It’s nice to be chosen! Remember when you were young and the kids were choosing up sides for kickball – what was your greatest fear? You did not want to be the last person chosen, or worse yet, not chosen at all. We like to be chosen.

Picture a young girl looking forward to the senior prom. She knows who she wants to go with but he has not asked her. There is a guy in her science class who is hinting that he would like to take her, but she wants to go with the other guy. What should she do? She thinks it’s better to at least attend then not go at all (who knows, the guy in her science class might invent the next technological breakthrough). It’s nice to be chosen. Jesus says in John 15:16 that He has chosen you,

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. (John 15:16)

Even though God knows everything about us, He has chosen us. Not only did He choose us, but He has appointed us for a special purpose. We have been chosen to bear fruit, fruit that will remain. God wants you to have a fruitful life. What comes to your mind when you think of fruit?

We often think of fruit as good works that we do for others and that is true, but there is also the internal aspect such as the fruit of the Spirit. Those who hear and respond to God are the ones who bear fruit:

And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:20)

God’s desire is that we are to be fruitful for Him. Jesus described the key to bearing fruit – whatever you ask the Father in His name He will give to you. This is what we call prayer.  What great work are you asking of God? Believe that His promises are for you.

You may doubt God’s call in your life because of a lack of fruit; you must realize that the internal fruit of our character often comes before the external fruit of good works. God works in your life and then through your life. The foundation of character sustains us when difficulties arise.

We must not allow the challenges that we face to bring us down. The world, our fleshly desires, and Satan conspire to diminish our fruitfulness. Perhaps you feel that God can’t use you because of failures in the past. God is looking for ordinary people for extra-ordinary tasks. When you face the challenges of life, remember that God has chosen you!

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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