Chosen

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1Peter 2.9-10)
In the "politics of the playground," the events of our early childhood, one of the worst things that could happen to you was to be chosen last. The experience can leave deep scars because we all want to be wanted.
In this Scripture, Peter reminds us that we are chosen! We are chosen by the One who created us. Some days we don't feel chosen. We feel "un-chosen," perhaps even rejected by some. It is a deep blow. Two of my teachers gave me the gift of remembering that I am chosen by God. The first was one of my favorite preachers who frequently said, "remember who you are and whose you are." This was a precious gift in my life, that no matter what the world labeled me as, I belonged to King Jesus. The other teacher was one I had in seminary who advised us fledgling pastors to remember that whenever we went to visit someone in the hospital, nursing home, or their own home that we represented Christ and the Church. (In fact, all Christians do!)
Both these teachers were getting at the same thing Peter was: WE ARE PRECIOUS IN GOD'S SIGHT! How did Peter know this? He was chosen by Jesus himself. Peter was a lowly fisherman, overlooked by the "in crowd" of his day. But Jesus saw in him a great disciple, one who would fish for people.
So, precious child of God, remember that you are chosen; you are highly prized by God!