The Schoolyard Pick

The Schoolyard Pick

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” — John 15:16

Jesus speaks these words directly to the apostles—men personally chosen and commissioned to lay the foundation of the church. Their role is unique and unrepeatable. Yet the truth He reveals is not confined to their office. The apostles are singular in authority, but they are not singular in grace. Throughout Scripture, God consistently initiates relationships before human response, and those He calls are appointed with purpose.

This pattern is visible long before the apostles ever stood in that room.

Scripture does not tell us what Abram was doing in Ur when the Lord spoke, nor does it describe any prior seeking on his part. It simply records this: “The LORD said to Abram, ‘Go…’” (Genesis 12:1). The text places the initiative squarely with God and the response with Abram. Israel likewise was chosen not because of strength, number, or virtue, but because of God’s love and promise, and only afterwards were they given the law that would govern their conduct (Deuteronomy 7:7–8). Jeremiah was appointed before he spoke, before he served, before he could object (Jeremiah 1:5). Paul was set apart by grace and then confronted, called, and commissioned (Acts 9; Galatians 1:15–16).

The apostles, then, are not the exception. They are the clearest expression of a consistent biblical reality: God speaks first, God calls first, and those He calls are summoned into obedience and fruit-bearing.

The idea of being chosen by God often meets resistance. For some, it feels unfair. For others, it sounds exclusive—as though it removes human responsibility or excuses careless living. The pushback usually comes quickly: If God chooses, then what about obedience? What about effort? What about accountability?

Yet Scripture is not uneasy with this tension.

 

The Schoolyard Pick

Think back to a schoolyard. Two captains stand facing a line of kids. One by one, names are called. You don’t choose yourself. You hear your name and step forward.

That moment reflects a biblical reality:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44).

Grace initiates. God calls first. We respond second.

 

Loved and Chosen Before You Perform

When your name is called, nothing has yet been proven. No goals scored. No distance run.
The choice was made before performance.

That is grace.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

We are loved and chosen not because of what we have done, but because of who He is.
Grace always precedes response.

But grace never ends the story there.

 

Once Chosen, Responsibility Begins

No one steps onto the field and says, “I’ve been chosen; therefore, I don’t have to play.”
Being chosen brings weight. You now represent the captain who picked you.

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you” (Philippians 2:12–13).

Grace does not replace effort—it empowers it.

Once chosen, expectations are clear:

• You show up
• You listen to instruction
• You play your position
• You give effort
• You pursue the goal

Not to earn your place—but because you already have one.

“Created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Grace gets you onto the team. Responsibility governs how you play.

 

The Danger of Pride

Even in the schoolyard, those chosen first can become proud. They may feel superior, glance down the line at others, or assume their place was earned.

The same danger exists in our understanding of being chosen by God. Pride can arise from assuming God chose us because we were better, or from thinking we chose God wisely or quickly.

This reflects the Arminian emphasis on human response. While it rightly stresses responsibility, it can drift into pride: “I believed because I was more open, more discerning, more willing than others.” Scripture cuts across that assumption:

“Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
“By grace you have been saved through faith—and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God—so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Election humbles before it exalts. Effort matters once chosen, but it did not place us on the team.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6)
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise… so that no human being might boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29)

We step onto the field not looking down on others but looking back at the Captain who called our name—and forward to the responsibility that now rests on us.

 

The Goal Has Not Changed

Every game has rules. Every match has an objective.

“Run in such a way as to obtain the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

The Christian life is not aimless.
Holiness, obedience, and endurance are not optional.

“Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)

Election does not remove the goal—it makes it possible to pursue it.

 

Love, Discipline, and Correction

A good captain corrects his players.
A loving God disciplines His children.

“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Hebrews 12:6)

Correction is not rejection. Discipline is evidence of sonship.

“If you are without discipline… you are not sons” (Hebrews 12:8)

If there is no correction, no conviction, no shaping, we must ask whether we are truly playing—or merely wearing the jersey.

 

Grace and Truth on the Same Field

“The Word became flesh… full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)

Not grace without truth. Not truth without grace.

Grace calls your name.
Truth trains your conduct.
Love keeps you on the field.

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13)

 

Conclusion

You are loved beyond measure.
You are chosen intentionally.
And you are accountable biblically.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8)

The captain called your name.
You’re on the team.

Now run.
Play your position.
And aim for the win.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone