“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” John 15:16
“I made a decision to give my life to Jesus”, said a Protestant man I met. Give your heart to God. Sounds right, I guess. But, then, I read these words of Jesus this morning. “You did not choose Me but I chose you”
We do make a decision to follow Jesus but it is God Who chose us. We are His chosen – His disciples and apostles. In many ways, no less than Simon, Thomas, James and Thaddeus. Jesus came to each of those 12 men, to call them to follow Him. Some, like Andrew knew Jesus before being called. But, though their hearts may have desired nothing more than to follow the Messiah, it was still Jesus Who chose them.
Like the twelve, Jesus chooses us. The Father designated each of us to be His apostle, to carry His word and news to the world. “And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
Most of us aren’t called to convert thousands as Peter and John did. But, we are chosen to be His messenger to the world in which we find ourselves. To our spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends and co-workers, we are sent to share the message of mercy and love. The message of God is clear and so is His desire, that we “may love one another” (v17) and our “joy may be complete” (v11).
When God called you by name into your mother’s womb, He chose you. When, you were raised in Baptism, He chose you. When you opened your heart that dark night when you were alone and afraid, Jesus had already chosen you to do His work.
Jesus stretches forth His hand to point at you, “Follow Me.” You are chosen, how will you answer?