Pick Me! Pick Me!
I was overweight as a child. (I didn’t think it would sound nice to say I was a “fat kid”.) It didn’t really slow me down in many ways. I had friends and excelled academically and in the arts. But I despised gym class and athletics and anything that reminded me of my physical state. I especially dreaded what seemed to be a common occurrence in our elementary P.E. classes. The teacher would select two kids–usually the “popular” ones– to be captains of opposing teams and the captains would take turns choosing teammates. Guess who was usually left until the very end when the last captain to choose would be stuck with me? Oh–but this wasn’t always the case. When we played Red Rover I was actually among the first to be chosen. This was equally humiliating because kids on the opposing side would just scream in terror as I trudged across to try and break through their very secured line. Of course, the Red Rover example is really a one-off. In the end, we all want to be wanted. We’d all want to be a desired pick for a team. But, alas, it is not always the case.
I thought of this recently when I was reading in the first chapter of the book of Acts about the selection of a new twelfth disciple to replace Judas Iscariot, who tragically killed himself over the grief and guilt of betraying Jesus. In the account, Peter reminds the rest of his team that someone must be chosen who has been with them from the beginning and could join them as witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. It was a pretty good-sized pool of candidates, the scripture stating that there was a group of about 120 gathered. Two final candidates were chosen: Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus (Wow…pick a name and stick with it) and Matthias. The group prayed and cast lots and in the end Matthias was chosen. (Maybe it was because they didn’t know what to call the other guy.) So that completed the team and the book of Acts continues on.
Many scholars believe that this Barsabbas is the same individual we hear about again in chapter 15 when he is selected to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their trip to Antioch. I think this is significant. This tells us that even though he was not chosen to be one of the twelve disciples who were key leaders of the growing Christian Church, he remained faithful and served as a leader among those with whom God had placed him. Although I’m sure he was disappointed to not be chosen during that chapter one account, it doesn’t appear that he allowed that disappointment to turn into resentfulness. He didn’t walk away mad.
I’m assuming you all are like me and have had experiences of rejection on many levels, mostly insignificant but some that still sting. How do we handle rejection? It seems trite to just say, “Well, God must have something better in store…” But, in actuality, that is probably true. Even when we are not chosen because we failed to accomplish something that really was within our reach, we know that God can turn ashes into beauty and restore what has been broken. So, friends, let’s not dwell on past rejection or rack our brains trying to figure out why we weren’t chosen for such-and-such. Instead, let’s look with hope to the future. And let’s always remember that as believers, we have been chosen by the One that matters most. “I (God) took you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you, ‘You are my servant.’ I have chosen you and not cast you away.” (Isaiah 41:9)
