Two men are having lunch together. One is Catholic and the other Jewish. They worked together for a number of years now and got along pretty well. They considered themselves friends and got together socially from time to time.

On this particular day the conversation came around to religion and Keith, the Catholic guy, asked, “Why don’t Jewish people believe in Jesus?” Nathan replied that Jewish people did not believe that the Messiah would be hung on a cross. For them, the Messiah would come in great glory. They saw Jesus as a prophet, but not the Messiah. Then Nathan said, “We believe that God actually chose us—we are God’s people and the Lord will know the right time and place to send the Messiah.”

I think there is something to be said for that kind of perspective—realizing that the Lord is the one who chooses. What’s that other phrase from Scripture, “It was not you who chose me but I who chose you”. And St. Paul says this to us today: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

You are chosen—-you are a chosen person. God chose you. That’s what it says in Scripture: “God chose us in Christ”. This means that the infinite God loved you into existence. Think about that! You are not here on this earth as a mere whim. You were meant to be here.

What is the reason God has chosen you? Well, first of all, so that you can never forget that you are important to God, and second, that you do his will in your life, and third, that you draw others to Him.

Most of the people in our world think little of God. Most do not pray at all. But, in some cases, when a person hits bottom, she/he is open to believing in God, even if it’s through a weak faith at first.

So, God wants us to depend upon Him in the ups and downs of life. And we can never forget: without Christ there is no salvation. We cannot be saved unless we learn to believe and trust in God. And God will give you the grace to trust Him. What we are asked to do in faith is to give God our life.

Here’s a little example. It has nothing to do with politics, but when President Reagan was shot, he almost died. In the days and weeks following that experience Reagan really came to believe that God had spared his life. He was not only grateful, but he learned to pray, “God, my life is yours, take it and do with it what you want.” That’s what the disciples had to learn as they were forced out of their comfort zones and were transformed by God’s grace. They eventually found their completeness in Christ. Because of our Baptism we are asked to come to the same realizations.

So give God your life. Entrust Him with it. And you will see why he chose you.