When I was a kid... I wasn't NEARLY as cool as I am today. (LOL!) Before you get the wrong idea, please allow me to explain that I don't *really* think that I am anywhere NEAR being cool, even now... but when I was a kid, I was about the most uncoordinated thing that ever walked the face of the earth!
One of the most vivid memories that I have as a child, is that of one of the most repeated scenes of my life. There we were, dozens of us kids, all lined up against the fence, waiting for the team captains to choose us to play baseball for their team.
One by one, the other kids were chosen. Mark was a jock, he ALWAYS got picked in the first round. Mike was a fast runner, and he was usually one of the first five to be selected. Jamie... well, Jamie was kind of a nerd, and so he rarely got picked until close to the end. And then there was me. I was absolutely sure that God created me so that I could be the very last person chosen to play ANY kind of sport! You knew it was bad, when the team captains would beg one another to go ahead and take me - they wouldn't mind if their team had 2 less people.
Yes, I know all too well about what it is to be chosen last... or not chosen at all. I remember the pain I felt as I struck out every time I got to bat. I remember the hurt in my heart as I walked away from the park, knowing that no one REALLY wanted to be my friend...
And then something happened. I'm not exactly sure when it happened... I just know that it did. Sometime around high school, I started to get some motor skill... so much so that by the time I was 17 years old, I could slam-dunk the basketball, and out-rebound almost anyone I played against. All of a sudden, I was no longer the last one picked. Somehow, the team captains saw value in me, and almost ever since, whenever I play basketball, I get picked right up near the front. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that I stand a full 6'5" tall).
When I asked Jesus into my heart, at the age of 16, something wonderful happened. You see... up until that moment, I knew only one aspect of life - and I was a loser. But from the point I realized that Jesus doesn't see me that way - I started to look at myself a little differently, too.
John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Jesus KNEW what I was feeling!! He knew what it was like to be overlooked - and NOT chosen. All of a sudden, I could relate to the Lord God Almighty - because He had been where I was!
Jesus went on to say in John 15:19, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
Hey!! Here's the point!! Jesus chose YOU!! He chose me!! This is GREAT NEWS! And this, my friends, is the essence of grace. He loves us, despite the fact that He knows us so very well. He sees all our downfalls and shortcomings... and He STILL chooses us!
When life is tough, and you simply feel that there is no way to keep on going, remember - SOMEONE CHOSE YOU! And if that someone is Jesus, (and it is!), then what else really matters? Let the world spin - the One who created the universe loves YOU!
God bless you as you hold your chin up!