For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth . . . Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.
(Deuteronomy 7:6,9)
Don’t you love the idea of being chosen? In fourth grade I had a crush on a boy named Troy, and he was so dreamy he could have his pick of any girl in all the elementary world. No joke, I would ask him every single ever-loving day if he would “go with me”. This was 1980s speak for Will you be my boyfriend, and every day he would politely decline. You would think this would crush a girl’s spirit, but no. No, I just kept asking him, and one day my persistence paid off. He finally said yes! He even agreed to enter the fourth grade jitterbug contest with me (which we took second place in). Aaaah, good times, good times. I look back on those 6 days with such sweet nostalgia. Yep, 6 days. That’s how long I kept dreamy Troy on my hook. He popped off as quickly as he could get free and swam away to less desperate waters.
Being temporarily chosen can be a painful experience. We think someone has looked at us and found us attractive or valuable in some way, and has forever forsaken all others to have us in their group or in their house or in their office. We are happy and feel special. Maybe even important and needed. We’ve been chosen. But then the unthinkable happens, and we are forgotten or downgraded. Thought not special or abandoned outright. There aren’t too many things more painful than this kind of rejection, and if we’ve ever experienced being temporarily chosen, we are at risk for thinking God might do the same.
But God is God; He is not people.
Just look at what He says through Moses to the Israelites in our focus verse. He chose them to be His people, and He treasured them. Treasured. I love that word. There’s nothing quite like being thought that significant. Here’s the awesome news for you and me. As soon as we turn our lives over to Jesus to be our Lord, we become children of God. We become His people, and now we are His treasured possession!
He has chosen us!
And this is no temporary choice. He never leaves us, never forgets us, and He is a constant help. He’s not going anywhere. His choice is permanent. Look at the end of our focus verses: He keeps His covenant of steadfast love. His love is a steadfast covenant that he actively nurtures. Whenever we start to doubt God’s love, we can always look back at the cross and remember He willingly drew up a love covenant (binding promise) there and inked it permanent with the blood of His Son. His love for us is not something He takes lightly or ever dismisses. He paid too much for it. When we accept that payment, we enter into His saving, forever love. Permanently. He ain’t no temporary Troy. He’s the real deal, and He’s hooked on us forever.
Ideas for Response:
+Spend some time thanking God for his steadfast, unconditional, never-changing love.
+What are you tempted to think disqualifies you from receiving God’s permanent love? Surrender that thing and accept God’s unconditional, permanent love.
+Copy the focus verse in the Process section as a letter to yourself.
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