CALL OR CHOSEN?
Source
"Because a lot of people are called, and few selected
(Matthew 22:14)
A few days ago I received correspondence from a very dear friend. In his letter he recounted part of the things that God had ministered to his life, after having spent a dry desert. One of the things he told me was that God had told him that he was a chosen one and not a call. That led me to think a lot about what I want to share with you through this writing, some of my meditations on this.
Some of the synonyms that the chosen word has, are the following: selected, elected, appointed, appointed, vested and preferred. Being invested is similar to being anointed and proclaimed.
A person who has been called is summoned, summoned, assembled, acclaimed, summoned, signaled, placed, placed, installed and placed. You are two words are very similar: be called and be chosen. However, there is an imposing and determining difference between being a person who is called and being a person who is chosen. Called persons have the option of deciding if they answer or answer the call made to them or if, on the contrary, they ignore it. In their hands is the alternative of choosing whether or not they want to attend to the invitation made to them.
But a person who has been chosen was marked to perform a task, a project, a plan. She was selected to do something specific and must fulfill that mission that was entrusted to her. It seems to me that those people deep inside their hearts know that they are chosen because there is a flame that burns inside them, something superior to their strength that despite all the obstacles, frustrations and obstacles in the way, makes them continue, because they know that They have a mission to fulfill. They are those who do not surrender to what seem like failures, who still tired, persist. They are the ones who pay the price and walk the extra mile. They are not giving up because they know that their God chose them and if they have the approval and support of God, they know that finally everything will turn out well.
I will give you an example of a person called and a chosen one so that you understand what I want to convey to you. Saul and David, both were kings of Israel. One, the first king and the other, the second king. Saul was called to be king because a people wanted him. He counted on the support of God, but he disobeyed the rules that were given to him and little by little he went away of that spiritual bond that united it to God. He decided to do things his way and not listen to the voice of God. Its end certainly was disastrous, was discarded by his disobedience, jealousy, envy and strife, among other things. But David was chosen from the womb of his mother, even without knowing it. Although he made many mistakes, he loved the Lord deeply and tried to do his will. He had the integrity and courage of when he made mistakes to go to the presence of the Lord, repent and ask for forgiveness. He had prosperity and at the end of his days he knew he was going to eternal abodes. David fulfilled all the missions for which he was chosen by God.
Now I invite you to meditate ... Think deeply if you have the attitude of a call or a chosen one. Are you still in the march despite everything or your service to God is conditioned by the circumstances and the feelings you experience at the moment? When you do not receive what you are waiting for at the moment, do you get impatient, start to give up and decide to do things your way? Before a negative response from God, do you behave like a capricious and spoiled child or do you know that even if you do not understand what is happening completely, everything is for your own good? Do you praise God only when things go well for you or can you also praise Him when things seem to be contradictory in your life? Are you assuming the position and role for which you have been chosen or do you want to do only what you feel what you think is right to do? Do you govern yourself or does God rule you? It may sound strong, but our attitude will determine and show if we are truly chosen or have decided to be simply called. Because they remember that as I said at the beginning, the calls decide what to do or what not, what offers to accept or what not. But the elect accept superior orders and obey them or obey them.
Allow God that we all assume the position of the elect.
the word translated as "called" is kletos. Kletos in turn is related to the noun klesis, which means "a call" and refers "especially to God's invitation for man to accept the benefits of salvation (Vine's Old and New Testament expository dictionary," Call , called, called "). This word is also similar to the Greek equivalent of "church," ekklesia, which means "called out." In other words, the Church is the group of those called (invited) by God to understand his plan, repent of his sins and receive the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word translated as "chosen" is eklektos, which means "selected, select" and can also be translated as "chosen" (Vine's expository dictionary of Old and New Testaments, "Choice, choose, chosen"). Although it is God who calls and chooses people, being "chosen" requires a personal decision; It depends on each one to accept the call of God and to act in consequence of it. In 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-15, Paul admits "always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, that God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation, through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, to which he called you through our gospel, to attain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.