CHOSEN WITH PURPOSE
28th Jan 2026
A verse that has been going through my mind recently is Philippians 3:12, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” We all want to live with purpose and feel useful.
Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.” It is important to realise that God chose each of us who has received His life and salvation. He took the initiative to single you out and call you by name, to rescue you from your sin and to fill you with His Spirit.
However, it is very easy to feel that we have no significance and that our lives are meaningless. We may be aspiring to something that God never planned for our lives.
In Matthew 25 Jesus is speaking about the sheep and the goats and describes the actions of the sheep, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
The disciples are puzzled because they don’t understand until Jesus says, “Whatever you did for the least of these my brothers of mine, you did for me.” and in Matthew 10:42, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
When I was a very young believer, working on a beach mission and feeling very inadequate, the leader turned to me and said, “And Charles will lead the Holiday Club.” Those words were life-changing; he believed in me and saw potential in me that I was unaware of.
It is easy to feel lonely and of no use, but forget that God sees us and He has chosen us with a purpose, “to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.” We may be waiting for an important, significant role, when all God wants is for us to be willing to give a cup of cold water. I recently saw this quote: “Kindness - the deaf can hear, the blind can see.”
by Charles Sibthorpe
