Your Place on the Team

When was the last time you saw a group of kids standing around the ball field trying to decide who is going to be on whose team? I wonder if it ever happens these days with all the organized leagues and kids dressed in uniforms that rival the pro’s.

Perhaps you can remember playing in the front yard when one of your neighbors walked by and let you know there was going to be a game at the field in thirty minutes. You ran inside to tell your mom where you were headed, grabbed your glove, and took off.

Just a handful of kids were there when you arrived. You even wondered if there would be enough to make one team, let alone two. Within a few minutes a few more kids had showed up. A couple had a ball. Two or three bats appeared from somewhere. It was time for a game.

Now came one of the most significant—and anxiety-producing—events in your life. It was time to choose up sides. Somehow two kids (not always the oldest or the strongest, but usually) were standing on either side of home plate and pointing at one kid and then another, saying, “I choose you.”

If you were always one of the first couple of kids who were chosen, then you probably don’t remember that knot that started growing in your stomach as the “captains” continued to pick their teams and treat you as if you were invisible. Some of you will remember waving your hand as you tried to get the attention of the “captain” of the team you wanted to be on; and then turning away when it came time for the other “captain” to choose. Still, being chosen to be on the “wrong” team was better than being chosen last or—worse, yet—not being chosen at all.

It may not have begun on the ball field, but many people continue to carry that nagging question in the back of their minds, “Would anyone choose me?” It is a question that can trouble people in many different areas of their lives: professional, relational, and spiritual.

If this is a question that haunts you, hear this good news: God chooses you! Yes, God wants you to be on the team. Your new life in Jesus Christ means that you are not meant for the sidelines. God has a place for you in the game.

May you come to realize your value to God and your importance to the community of faith as you hear God say, “I choose you!”