Chosen.

I think that sometimes there is nothing scarier in the world than simply being chosen.

We probably don't think of it that way a lot of the time, but that's sort of how it goes. In school, no kid wanted to be the one picked by the teacher to answer a question or read or whatever. At work, it can be sort of scary when your boss chooses you to work on a special project and is really counting on you to do something. Yeah, it's great they have that faith in you, but at the same time, that's a lot of responsibility that you may or may not feel up for. Star athletes face this all the time; I think of all the pressure that must lie on the shoulders of a guy like LeBron James, who has been declared the "chosen one" to bring a championship back to Cleveland. It's nice to be respected, but being chosen comes with responsibility. And that can be scary.

A lot of the time, I think that I'd rather go through life unnoticed. Yeah, you might miss out on some cool stuff, but you also miss out on the deathly experience of being the one who disappoints. Being chosen means that people are watching me. They are waiting on me. They are expecting me to do something. The reward can be high, but so can the potential to totally fail.

Tonight at the suggestion of my dear friend Ryan Trisler, a guy I really respect, I began reading the book of Jeremiah. Ryan's reasoning was that there's something compelling about watching a guy who really wrestles with his own insecurities and has to be told again and again to do God's work. And the book essentially begins with God telling Jeremiah, "I've chosen you."

That's a pretty high calling straight from the God of the universe. I get nervous when folks at church entrust me with bigger responsibilities. I can only imagine the feeling Jeremiah got when he received that calling from the Alpha and Omega. Jeremiah's initial response is simply, "I can't," to which God roared back by essentially saying, "Don't tell me what you can and can't do. I made you, and I made you for this." It takes Jeremiah a little bit to get there, and he wrestles back and forth, but he accepts the call and he moves on it.

I am starting to realize that for the God of the universe, impossible doesn't exist. God doesn't know the meaning of the word "can't" (Luke 1:37, Philippians 4:13). That can be incredibly liberating and also incredibly scary; you simply can't cop out on something when God stands with you.

In John 15:16, Jesus says to his disciples that "you did not choose me; I chose you." Just like Jeremiah, God has chosen me to (in my own unique way) produce fruit. That's an incredible responsibility. But as a Christ follower, I essentially have two choices: I can run from that calling and waste my life like the wicked servant, or I can embrace it and believe that just like with Jeremiah, God is right beside me, guiding, leading, and helping me all the way, even if I don't always see it.

Even though it's scary to me at times, God has chosen me. And I have a responsibility to do something.