Imagine sitting in a room with a crowd of people. You are the only one in the room who belongs to the Lord. Why did the Lord choose you to belong to him? Was it because the Lord knew that you were going to serve him better than all the others? Not at all. You are no better than anyone else in the room. You did not decide to serve the Lord from yourself. No, the only reason that you belong to the Lord is because he chose you first. The Lord could have chosen anyone in that room, but he decided that he would choose you.

The Lord Jesus tells us that, because we have been chosen by the Lord, we belong to him. Just like a branch is part of a vine, so we belong to Christ. We are part of Christ. The Lord wants to abide in you. And he has done this because Christ died on the cross.

But why did God choose you? Jesus tells us that God chose us so that we can go and bear fruit. Just like a branch of a vine will bear fruit, so we must bear fruit. He wants us to live a life that shows that Christ lives in us. People around you should be able to see that you belong to Christ. The fruits that we must show are not apples and oranges, but love, peace, kindness, gentleness. We must produce the fruit of the Spirit. Those who belong to Christ must show obedience to him.

And Christ also promises us that those who are chosen by God will get whatever they ask him for. This does not mean that if you ask for a new book you will get it. “Whatever” means whatever we need to serve the Lord. We should be asking for the things that God has promised. We should be praying for whatever we need to obey the Lord and to show the fruit of the Spirit. If we pray for these things, the Lord promises us that he will give them to us.

Reflection with your child:

Why has God chosen you to belong to him?

Source: Sermon by Rev. K. Dekker