#DailyDevotion Who God Chooses To Be His Own

1 Cor. 1²⁶You see what happened, fellow Christians, when God called you. Not many of you are wise as the world judges, not many in positions of power, not many born of noble parents. ²⁷No, God chose the foolish things in the world to make wise men ashamed. God chose the weak things in the world to make strong men ashamed. ²⁸God chose the lowly things in the world, what it despises, what is nothing, to make what is something nothing ²⁹and to keep anyone from bragging before God.

So where or what were you when God called you? The people of Corinth, they weren’t wise as the world judges. The Christians there whom God called were not in positions of power or born of noble parents. As far as the statistics go, even today, those called by God to belong to Christ’s church are not wise, nor powerful, nor rich or born of noble families. There just aren’t a whole lot of those types of people, though many think they may be or want to be.

So who does God called to belong to his Church in Christ Jesus? God chooses the foolish things in the world to make wise men ashamed. God chooses the weak things in the world to make strong men ashamed. God chooses the lowly things in the world to be his people i.e. those who do not have money, power or prestige. More than that, God chooses those whom the world despises to be his holy people. Paul says then in culmination, God chooses those who are nothing, nothing, to keep anyone from bragging before God. Just as he made creation out of nothing to make this big beautiful creation we see all around us he takes those who are nothing and calls them, gives them his glory and makes them his sons.

So where were you when God chose you? I was a month old. Who knew what I was going to be. Yes, I was born into a nice middle class family but people move pretty quickly from one station and life to another. Again I was a college kid when God called my back to faith after I had left it like those who grew up among the thorns. I wasn’t much to talk about then either. At least it was a pretty lowly place in my life at the time.

I dare say most of us weren’t much when God called us to faith in Jesus. It’s not that God does not called into his Church those who are wise in the world’s eyes, powerful, rich or noble, he does on occasion. God’s grace and mercy, his kindness and love, his wisdom and might is mostly shown in picking those who have none of those things, the bottom of the barrel of the world and making them something, at least in the Church. There in Christ Jesus he gives them his mercy, kindness, love, power, wisdom, righteousness and glory. These things he wants to give to you and will give you as you humble yourself before the Son Jesus Christ and accept his salvation which you confess you do not deserve. Yes, in Christ Jesus God has called you to be his very own sons.

Almighty and All-wise God, you have chosen those who the world despises to show you grace, mercy, kindness, love, wisdom and might. Grant that we may indeed humble ourselves before you and confess all good things we have received from you we have received them in Christ Jesus, your Son our Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.