One year in High School, each music class was tasked with writing a Christmas song for the school play. I remember sitting there thinking that every Christmas song had already been written. They continued to push us to write one every day. In my mind, I began to think, “What if we wrote a song that would become a Christmas Classic?” Of course it didn’t become one. In fact, it wasn’t even a Christmas song! We wrote a song based off the scripture that says, “For many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).” We titled it “Choose to be chosen”.
I haven’t thought about that song in nearly twenty years. This morning as I was reading in the first few chapters of John, I noticed something. Once John the Baptist baptized Jesus and announced Him as the Messiah, many people chose to follow Jesus. Soon even the ones who followed John the Baptist started following Him. As crowds chose to follow Jesus, He went around and chose 12 to follow Him. Out of thousands, only twelve had been chosen to follow.
That old song we wrote came back into my head as I chewed on that. I could imagine Nathaniel sitting under that fig tree when Philip ran up to him. Philip shouted, “We’ve found Him! We’ve found the Messiah!” Nathaniel pops up expectantly, “You found Him? You found the One?” “Yes! It’s Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth! Can you believe it?” I then imagine Nathaniel leaning back up against the tree, his expectant look gone and saying, “Nazareth!?! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
After some convincing, Nathaniel chose to go see Jesus. When he got there, Jesus called out, “Now there’s a genuine son of Israel – a man of complete integrity.” After their conversation, Nathaniel chose to follow Jesus. He could have stayed under that fig tree. He could have blown off what Philip had told him. He was comfortable where he was. Remember, he was relaxing in the shade of a tree on a warm Spring day. He didn’t have to leave that place. He could have waited for Jesus to pass by and find him there. But he chose to go and see and his life was forever changed.
Maybe you’re comfortable where you are today. Your income has made you be able to relax at this point in life. Or maybe your walk with God has become so routine that you can follow Jesus without even trying. You’re like Nathaniel just chilling under a tree happy with where you are. All along, the One, Jesus, the Messiah, is passing by wondering if you’re going to choose to be chosen to do greater things. Are you going to give up life in the shade tree for a life of work in the vineyard? Jesus is looking for laborers today. Will you get up from your place of comfort and choose to be chosen for the work at hand?
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 