Snatched

Philippians 3:12  Not that I have already obtained all this [to share in Christ's suffering, become like him in death and attain resurrection from the dead], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to TAKE HOLD of that for which Christ Jesus TOOK HOLD of me.

This verse is one of my favorites.  I love the image of Christ Jesus taking hold of me.  I see myself on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the jagged rocks below.  It is dark down there, the roiling waves and shifting shadows are ominous yet grossly alluring.  The urge is to jump, to leap, to stumble and so fall...but then He calls me, calls me by name.  "Cassie, you are mine."  My head turns toward Him and He reaches out and grabs me, not by my hand, where the strength of His grip is dependent upon the strength of mine, but around the waist, protecting me from my own weakness.

He did not reach blindly, on that day, but carefully took aim.  We are called to be fishermen, casting our net out over our neighborhoods or workplaces.  We choose where to cast, but we do not choose who is caught.  Jesus is not a fisherman.  His hook is not baited, his net is not cast for just anyone who may pass by; the target, an accidental convergence of time and place.  No, when He reached out for me, it was me He wanted to take hold of.  Me, as one who He has known from before my birth; me, as one whose future is His to form.  He took careful aim and He did not miss.  As He said to Israel in Isaiah 43:1, He also says to me , "I have called you by name, and you are mine."

The burning, the stirring, the eagerness I feel to take hold of His purpose for me is a response to this image.  I am chosen, I am deeply loved, I am not an accident.  I am far from perfect, but His plan is perfect.  His purpose for my today is unfolding.  I hear the faint thrumming of His purpose for my tomorrow.  Looking beyond, I see nothing but the smoke behind which his purposes are hiding, but I press on, because once upon a time, He TOOK HOLD of me.

Snatched.