Excerpt from 2 Peter 1:1-11

"Try even harder to make God's choice of you a permanent experience."  (Good News Bible)

Reflection by William C. Green

Those chosen by God in the Bible for special responsibility were not happy about it.  Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah are a few examples. Their response was, "Why me?" They bring to mind Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof," "I know. I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"

And so with us. Prophets in the Bible were always reluctant. Nonetheless, God's Spirit
worked through them and then Jesus and his disciples before landing now on you and me. It's the power of God with us to work God's love and healing.

Being chosen, and learning to live that out as a permanent awareness, is not the burden it seems. We don't have to become more perfect than we are. We don't need to be without sin. We don't need to be doubt-free believers. Our call is not to be like Jesus but to be his disciples. Those earliest followers knew they were inadequate and imperfect just like us. But it wasn't their own righteousness that did the trick.  It's God's desire to work through each of us whatever our drawbacks.

Just as Jesus turned a loaf and a few fish into food for thousands, so with us, small and powerless as we feel. Being chosen means believing God can do a lot with our littleness and never more so than when we think our caring and compassion don't amount to much.

Prayer

Help me believe that what I do really matters, God. Don't let my doubts get in the way. Amen.

About the Author William C. Green is Vice-President for Strategy and Development, Moral Courage Project, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the author of 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation: Generous Giving.

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