In the military, those that desire to enroll need to take different tests in order to be successfully enlisted. There are various areas that they examine: your health status, your level of discipline, attention to detail and once you pass this level, you proceed to the cadet program. This level of training is conducted in an environment of strict discipline where one is tested against their abilities such as, how long you can withstand cold weather, hot weather, rain, mud, pain, and other extreme discomforts and so on. Upon completion of several months of thorough training, you are either deemed fit and commissioned or not up to task. As we know, what is seen was not created by what is visible and so many of these patterns you see in the world are drawn from an already existing pattern set by the divine realm and inspired in the hearts of men by God. This to say, the kinds of professions, businesses and all endeavors of men have a certain pattern they follow in the spiritual realm.
To be chosen
For many are called, but few are chosen. KJV
Unlike what many are in the habit of interpreting through this passage, let us keep in mind the important truth that it is not about favoritism with God. Previously, I spoke on the necessity laid upon one who has entered the realm of the called where you ought to be willing to acquaint yourself with your new nature as one born of the spirit and that is only through the Word. It is God’s will for you to seek and find but how do you seek? Diligently
When it comes to being chosen however, this kind of individual has not only taken up the necessity to immerse themselves in the study of this new nature as the begotten of God, but they receive within that call, a responsibility to extend the right hand of fellowship even unto others. In a professional setting, you will always have two kinds of individuals, one who does only what is asked of them and never willing to go an extra hour past working hours and you will never find them take a few minutes off their break to assist their colleague simply because the company is not their own or their father’s, so they say. You will have another type, also not the owner or heir of the company either but who still wills to accomplish their tasks with excellence, to serve with their full attention while they are there and is willing to help others if need arises even if it requires them to stay an extra hour. Both are just doing their jobs and working within the requirements impressed upon them but one is working out of duty while the other is working out of responsibility.
Duty is defined as an obligation to fulfill while responsibility is defined as an act of accepting and acting on a task that has been assigned to you. Both individuals cannot produce the same results. One will always receive more responsiveness from their peers because they know they can count on the same from them, they will experience favor before their leaders and peers and so on. The other might not experience all these extra things mentioned for the former, not because they do not do their job well but simply do not apply themselves in personalizing and owning the tasks at hand. The same is applicable with the responsibility of the believer towards the Word.
An individual that has made it a habit to walk habitually in the Spirit read the Word and go the extra mile in wanting to understand it, praying in it, connecting to different fellowships with the same spirit-minded attitude, asking questions, applying themselves to it and watching teachings until this knowledge sinks, will inevitably produce results as one who diligently seeks. Likewise, the individual who occasionally reads the word, faithfully attends church Sunday, goes to fellowship when time allows and generally sees to it that they are perceived as one of fair character, will reap the equal amount of their labor.
What am I saying saints? In the book of Hosea, in the seventh chapter, the prophet Hosea writes that Ephraim is like a cake unturned or half baked. The illustration of a cake burnt to coal at the bottom but raw at the top is a depiction of a character full of inconsistencies which is present in the body of Christ today. You cannot expect to address certain matters in prayer, seek for God’s counsel and revert to taking the same matter in your hands as soon as you leave your prayer closet and expect great results.
You cannot resort to works and expect results of grace. You cannot prioritize money, innocent amusements, material things and personal leisures and expect God to find you where you are especially if you are born again, for He has already done more than enough – by coming to dwell in you . The chosen of God understand that the proof of their love for Christ is in keeping His commands accepting His Lordship over what they say, think and do.
Many are deceived by thinking that their part is complete when they confess Christ as their Lord and Savior but they willfully cling to Him as only their Savior and very seldom as their Lord. Ephraim is a cake unturned because by mixing himself to the heathen, he becomes one of them. By seeking after the worldly things, even worse under the deception of drawing lost souls to Christ, you yourself might be pulled down for the scriptures are clear ‘bad communications corrupt good manners not the other way around.
Child of God, necessity is laid upon you to be a light to the world and light casts a shadow on the things in darkness. If darkness overtakes you in your attempts to cast your light, then your strength is small It is good to understand the commissioning, to desire to be part of this noble act but even more importantly, to apply yourself and understand the process and pruning of God, that your roots may run deeper and stand firm when the storms come. Beware that your joys lead you not to destruction.
If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, and you feel that this is the perfect time, pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I thank you because you died for my sins and you were raised for my glory. Today, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I am born again. Amen.”
