Included

I know what it feels like to be left out.

I'm sure you do, too.

When I was a kid, I was the "fat kid." After I was a teenager, I was the Christian girl who wasn't going to do the things that made people "popular."

I can remember being in about third grade when a group of girls in my class decided to form a club because they all liked the color purple. Purple was my favorite color, too, but for some reason, I wasn't allowed in the club. In fact, I think they disbanded the club just to keep me out. My heart aches just thinking about it.

My junior year of high school I can remember being passed over for homecoming court even though I was the obvious choice for a couple of the spots. I was on the danceline, very involved in all aspects of school life, a good student, and I had been at the school since Pre-K. Other girls who were "popular" filled those positions, even though everyone knew they were the wrong people for those honors. I can remember going home after school that day and crying in my mother's lap for what seemed like hours.

Being left out is no fun. And if only it stopped in school! Unfortunately, it still happens in adulthood. Our friends have a party and don't invite us, and we have no idea why. We get passed over for promotions because we may not be in the "in crowd" at work. You walk up on a conversation only to realize the people stop talking when you arrive because they don't want you knowing what they were saying. Your kid is a little different from other kids, so you don't get asked to do things with other people. You don't get chosen for the team. Or worst of all, you are chosen last. It still happens. And it shouldn't.

Even though the urge to be included should have ended when we were adolescents (or at least by early adulthood), we still want to be in the "in crowd." We still want to be accepted. Invited. And when it boils down to it, we want to be loved. What we don't realize is that there is One who loves us more than any human person could. And He has chosen us to be His. He gave His very life so we could be in His "in crowd." That is real love.

The first chapter of Ephesians lists a whole bunch of words that explains who we are in Christ. Some of those words are:

Chosen
Holy
Blameless
Redeemed
Forgiven
Predestined
Marked.

Those are all amazing words! I like all of those words! Words of love. Words of acceptance. Words of freedom. But one of the words stood out to me more than the others:

Included.

Ephesians 1:13-14 says, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." (Emphasis mine)

We are included in Christ if we have given our heart and life to Him. We cannot be left out. We cannot be passed over. We have been picked for the team! We are included. Let that truth wash over you right now - YOU ARE INCLUDED! No matter if you don't get that party invitation. No matter your situation at work. Regardless of who you are or who your family is. You are included in the best club in the entire universe - the redeemed of Christ.

There is an old hymn that makes this point even better than I can. It never made much sense to me until now. Here are the words:

I am so happy in Christ today,
That I go singing along my way;
Yes, I'm so happy to know and say,
"Jesus included me too."

Chorus:
Jesus included me,
Yes, He included me;
When the Lord said, "Whosoever,"
He included me.
Jesus included me,
Yes, He included me;
When the Lord said, "Whosoever,"
He included me.
 ("He Included Me," Johnson Oatman, Jr.) 

Don't let being left out get you down! You are included in Christ!