3/12/24 Lent Psalm 78:40-32
“I likes to be chosen.” Bob Benson is a name well-known to older Nazarenes. He and his family were giants in the gospel publishing business in the early 1970s when I was in college. (I started to just write 70’s but I knew some of you would be confused whether I was in college in the 19’s or the 18’s.) Bob was a frequent speaker at the chapel services at Trevecca, the small Christian college I attended. He was a prolific writer and a world-class storyteller. I would say he was one of my early heroes.
Imagine my delight when shortly after Doris and I were married, we were asked to provide the music for a state marriage retreat where Bob was the featured speaker. We spent three wonderful days together, us opening with some unbelievable, amazing singing, and Bob Benson speaking 2 sessions each day. Just before the last session, Bob came and sat beside me. He patted me on the knee and said, “You remind me of myself when I was young.” It nearly took my breath away. Surely, he meant my quick wit and wonderful sense of humor. Or maybe he was talking about my ability to spell-bind the audience with a story. He said it again, “You remind me of myself when I was young. You have that same sick little, whiny voice that I did.”
He told a story that week about being chosen and used that phrase, “I likes to be chosen.” So do I. 😊
In verse 70 of Psalm 78, the psalmist reminds us, “He chose David His servant and took him from the sheep pens.” Yesterday I talked about teaching our children about Jesus. Several people asked me, “What do you teach them?” Well, mainly this. WE ARE CHOSEN. I’m not smart enough to figure out the doctrine of election or to talk about predestination. I don’t know how all of that works. I just know that I want to instill in my grandkids the wonderful assurance that they are chosen by God. I write it over and over in their Bibles, “Jon-Mical, God has chosen you for a special purpose.” Jakson, can you believe, of all the people in the world, God chose YOU to play the drums like you do?” “Caleb, I am so glad that God chose you to be my grandson.” “Amos, when God was making the world, He knew that He was going to choose you to change it.”
There is something amazing about being chosen. And here’s what I believe…God chose you. You might have come from a sheep pen. You might have really messed up before you got around to realizing you were chosen. None of that matters. All that matters is that from the beginning of time, God had His eye on you and He knew when the time was right, He was going to pick you, whiny voice and all.
So, take that, Bob Benson. I was chosen.