“With the 1st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Joe Burrow, Quarterback from LSU.” (And the crowd goes wild!) After a record setting season, winning a Heisman Trophy, and leading his team to a National Championship, the former Buckeye was the obvious choice to be picked first. A dream had come true and against incredible odds. The chances of a college player being drafted by an NFL team is less than 2%, and to be chosen at the top of that list, first out of 259 other elite, highly sought-after players is a remarkable accomplishment to say the least.
As for myself, I’m more like the character Rudy from the Notre Dame football movie, “5-foot nothin’, 100 and nothin’, and barely a speck of athletic ability.” I longed to be a big football star and be hoisted off the field at Ohio Stadium after scoring the winning touchdown. But, seeing that I’ve always been a bit, how should I say it, “gravitationally challenged”, a career in football just wasn’t in the cards.
But my physical stature never seemed to stop me from wanting to be the best or the first at whatever I did, even all the way back to elementary school on the ‘ole kickball field. Remember the dreaded choosing of teams. Ugh, right?! Ooh, Ooh pick me! And one by one the taller and stronger kids got picked first. Or maybe for you it was challenging for the first chair in band, or auditioning for the lead in the school musical, or seeking to be captain of an academic club. Don’t we just naturally wanna be picked first? To be someone’s first choice? To be someone’s favorite?
That’s one of the things I love about God. To him, it’s almost as if each one of us who chooses to follow him, is his favorite. Ephesians 1:5 says this, God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (NLT) What a great feeling to be invited into His family! It’s been said that if God has a refrigerator, your picture is surely on it. I tend to believe it.
My hope and prayer is that each of you would recognize how very special you are to him and just how much he’s done to reconcile you to himself. He sacrificed his very own Son, Jesus, on your behalf, so that you could be with him forever. Yeah, he hand-picked you. You’re kind of a big deal to God! AMEN!
~ Pastor Mitch