“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” — 1 Timothy 2:3-4
He Picks Us First
When I was in elementary school, one of the things we would do is go outside to play games at recess. Sometimes we would play basketball, sometimes it would be dodgeball or kickball.
As the new kid at the school, one of the most agonizing things for sixth-grade me was standing up against that fence, or up against the building, waiting for my name to be called. Sometimes I would go in the middle of the pack, but the hope was that my name would not be called last.
None of us like being last. In fact, one of the most quoted lines in our culture is from the movie “Talladega Nights,” which says, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
Here is the good news for all of us today: the God who desires all men to be saved is the same God who picked us first.
From the beginning of time and space, God had a plan to call all people unto Himself. God is no respecter of persons. He calls people of all races, classes and genders unto Himself. The Bible even says in John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh for all people.”
Rest today, friend, in the knowledge that the God of this amazing and yet complex universe has picked you. When He spoke to nothing and created everything, He had you in mind. When He sent His Son to die on the cruel, rugged cross, He had you in mind.
He picked us first. He picked you first.
— Gary Underwood
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