“God Calls All of Us”
We are currently having our Wednesday Bible Study with our topic a famous Christian TV Show Series, ‘The Chosen.’ Through the show, we view the stories of the people who were chosen by God in Jesus’ time. Especially, we observe whom God has chosen, how they were transformed, and how they lived in God’s Kingdom with Jesus Christ. I love to watch the episodes in the show. However, there is just one thing that I would like to complain about here. It is about the title, ‘The Chosen.’ In my mind, the word, ‘chosen,’ has a nuance that God particularly chose some people or group and gave them something special and meaningful for God’s purpose. In some sense, it is right because God chose the twelve disciples and other specific people of the Gospels and used them for God’s salvation story in Jesus Christ. I also agree with this idea. Nevertheless, I am still hesitant about that title because I do not think that God’s love and grace is limited to a special person or a particular people. I do not think that God used only some chosen people for the realization of God’s Kingdom. I do not think that God chose few special people, but I believe that God calls all people who are created in the image of God. I believe that God gives all of us, not some of us, God’s love and grace. I believe that God invites all humankind to God’s heavenly banquet. We have many different gifts, abilities, shapes, and characteristics, so that God uses us in different areas according to those differences. We are all different, but we are all joined in God’s love and grace. There is no one who is outside of God’s choice and calling. We are all called by God. We are all chosen by God for God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. So, our church ministry and mission are not only the work realized by few selected people like a pastor, missionaries, or some church leaders, but our faithful duty that all Christians practice together. This is because God chooses and calls all of us. There is no exception in God’s grace. So, we need to live our life in accordance with that grace. It is our faith. In this understanding, I want to invite all of our church family to our worship experiences, our loving connections, and our social holiness as responses to God’s calling. Today, God calls each of us, not some of us. Amen.
Pastor Jinha Choi
First & Wesley United Methodist Church