Picking Teams

Psalm 147:12-20

When I was a kid in elementary school one of the more complex rituals we carried out on a regular basis was picking teams for softball or kickball. If you wanted to know where you stood in the pecking order this was a good way to find out. For the most part I was usually somewhere near the middle. And that was fine, so long as I was not picked last.

This isn’t exactly what the psalmist is talking about in Psalm 147, but notice the joy expressed in these verses: “He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 147:19-20). When it comes to being on “God’s team” as it were, the people of Israel were not only picked first, they were the only ones chosen. No other nation, no other people could claim such a distinction. With the children of Jacob alone had God dealt in this way.

Of course, being chosen by God carries with it certain expectations. God expects such a people to respond to God’s word, to live in God’s way, to trust in God’s providence. Even as we have come to understand the Church to be the people of God the expectations remain. But so should the joy! God has not dealt thus with any other institution. And in forming the community of faith God has picked each of us as individuals, not in some sort of pecking order, but in order that we may have life and have it abundantly, and that we may respond to God’s word, to live in God’s way, to trust in God’s providence.

Prayer: Lord, you have chosen us to serve you by serving others. We rejoice to be your people even as we seek your Spirit’s guidance for the living of these days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.