Picked First
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Fourteen vehicles, weed spray trucks, ATV’s, a Land Tamer, pick-ups and engines (firefighting trucks) were parked in a row on the hillside where the weed spray project was going to commence. Twenty backpack sprayers were lined up and ready to be filled. The leader was giving a safety presentation as about thirty people prepared to spray weeds, map areas that had been treated last year, and carry water to those using backpack sprayers.
When the safety briefing was over a young firefighter hurried over to me and said, “I want to work with you today whatever you are doing.”
“Sure” I replied. “I’ll probably be mapping.” My mind was racing to decades past when I was in grade school and middle school. I was never picked first. We moved every couple of years so I was usually the new kid. I always played my heart out for my team and did whatever I could to prove myself, but the next time teams were chosen. . . there I would be again, picked last.
I didn’t ask the firefighter why he wanted to work with me, but I basked in the glow of being chosen. We just went out and did the job, marking areas with a GPS that had been missed during the helicopter spray effort last year so they could be treated this year. I enjoyed the day. We talked about plants and weeds, bio-control and chemical control.
All the time we were working I was thinking about Jesus picking me. I was not really looking for Him when He found me. He Chose Me. He chose me and appointed me to go and bear fruit, fruit that would last. Jesus picked me. I can’t get over that miracle. I was chosen for a purpose along with all the others He has chosen.
All of us here at Trailhead Christian Fellowship were Chosen. That is the first part of the verse. But the second part is we are appointed to bear fruit that will last. What kind of fruit will we bear if we fall apart? “If we were arrested for being Christians would there be enough evidence to convict us?” I don’t know who first asked that question but it is still thought provoking.
Are we being persecuted? Do we have to meet in the blazing sun like the Christians do in Cuba because the government won’t allow them to build a building? (If the government did allow it they do not have the resources to buy or build a building.) Are our babies thrown in the air and caught on bayonets like they have been in Burma, even up to the present time? Do we have to hide in fear for our lives like the Christians do in Islamic nations?
How is our suffering so severe that we are giving up on our wonderful congregation? If we hand Satan a victory on a silver platter because we can’t agree on the “little stuff” what are we going to do when real hardship comes?
Let us Choose Jesus’ way. Let’s listen to music we don’t like sometimes, let’s have worship that’s a little rough around the edges. Let’s support our youth. . . . For crying out loud WE HAVE A YOUTH GROUP!! These young people could be joining gangs!
We all need to step out and do the next “right thing”. For me it is signing up to help with Vacation Bible School. What is it for you?
The Bible tells us there are two things that will certainly last forever, people and Gods Word.
Dear Lord Jesus, please help us to bear fruit that will last forever. Show us new ways to help people find you. . . . Help all of us that call you Lord to bear eternal fruit.
One of Your Chosen Ones,
Diane
August 2011