DESIRES 6 and 7 Chosen and Included

I have connected these two desires because I believe they have a direct relationship with each other.
We all desire to be chosen.  Reflecting back to my childhood I remember being chosen to be the captain of our safety patrol, or simply when the guys were choosing up teams for a game and I was one of the first to be chosen.  It was also tough however to see how difficult it was for the boys who were chosen last.

"We desire to be chosen by someone to be in a special relationship.  We feel special and accepted.  We feel desired. When we feel chosen and included we create messages about ourselves that are congruent with God's truth about who we are: we are beautiful, we are special, and we are beloved."

On the flip side of being chosen is the need to be included.  All of us need to experience some type of community.  I am reminded that God said, "It is not good for man to be alone."   He created Eve as a helpmate to compliment Adam's aloneness.

Certainly a sense of belonging should start in our family, but the church should be high on the list as well.  There are many seekers out there trying to find a place where they can be accepted and loved for who they are.   While it may be discouraging that 80% of people are not into organized church these days, we do need to be reminded that people are still seeking to be included and accepted.

All of us in the church should feel the enormous responsibility of encouraging people to be included and chosen.  When these two basic desires are met, I believe we will see the back door of our churches closing at a more rapid rate.