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“Everybody line-up!” I can still hear the PE teacher yell that early spring morning, as all of us kids scrambled to line up along the kickball field base line. “Today we are playing kickball.”
“Tim; Aaron, you are the team captains, you get to select the players.” You quickly look down the baseline as everybody is trying to get into line, the great kickball players are the cool ones, just standing relaxed, confident and have begun to try to get the captains attention to be picked first. Others are just standing there without much thought, but knowing that soon they would be picked. But there are a few, that are trying to hide. The ones that know they will be picked last. The ones that don’t have many friends and have limited skills in kickball.
The captains begin naming off players, typically choosing their best friends and the best players first, and before long there are only two or three people remaining. The captains begin struggling on which person to pick, and trying to remember what each persons name is.
Each one of us at some point has been the last person standing. The one viewed as being the least valuable, the one that everybody is staring at.
Inside of us we feel the shame of being the last person chosen. That moment in time where nobody had any faith in us.
Having people believe in us is one of the greatest life giving moments of our lives. The simple, but powerful words of “I believe in you” are some of the most significant and powerful words that you or I may speak. Just from that simple phrase, you are telling someone that they are significant, they have value, and that someone has faith in them.
Belief in people brings the best out of them. As a parent, telling your child that you believe in them, will arm them with a confidence to face all of life’s hardships.
Many times in our spiritual walk we feel like that last person standing on the kickball field. What can I possibly bring of value to God. With all my faults and failures, shortcomings and scars, how can I be of value to the God that created all things.
In John 15, Christ is teaching his disciples a few hours before he is arrested and crucified on the cross and was teaching them about love.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you… I am telling you this so that my joy may be in you… There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends… You did not choose me, but I chose you…”
“But I chose you.” These words of Christ are some of the most important words that he spoke to us.
Christ has chosen us to be on his team. Christ was looking down the baseline, and pointed his finger directly at you, and selected you for his team. It was his choice, not choosing you as the last person standing, but as a valued and valuable member of his team.
All of the times in our life where we want to give up, when life is tough and we feel defeated, or worse – worthless, we must remember that everyday that we are alive, God has chosen us for a purpose. God himself believes in us.
God has said, I believe in you! If God has said that he believes in us, shouldn’t we, too?