The Following Is A Guest Post By My Friend, Bonnie
Confession: I absolutely love watching the shows The Bachelorette and The Bachelor! If there’s one show I will make time for, it’s those.
At my house, we have Bachelor Mondays and in the summers I’m home, they’re my favorite! My mom, sister, and friends will gather around the TV to watch week by week who gets to go on dates, who is chosen and who is rejected. We make our bets and choose our own favorites. (If you’re watching this current season with Becca, I’m definitely team Blake followed by Jason!) ;)
Anyways, this new show, The Proposal, has started coming on after the Bachelorette.
My mom and I have gotten into watching it this summer, and let me say, it is such an interesting and honestly worldly show.
In The Proposal, a mystery guy or mystery girl sit behind a “pod” and watch from afar ten potential dating candidates consisting of single ladies or men. The ten contestants go through a series of get-to-know you rounds in which the mystery person sees and chooses who continues and who doesn’t, until there are only two people left. These rounds consist of the contestants sporting their swimwear, bearing their heart out in under a minute’s time, answering questions asked by the mystery man/woman, getting to meet the parents of the person, and lastly, meeting the mystery figure in person. In the end, after a first meet and time of talking face to face with the two final candidates, the guy or girl chooses who to propose to, or whose proposal to accept. All of this happens in an hour.
I know that there is a lot of controversy that comes with these kinds of shows, such as the shallowness of it or how one simply can’t choose something as big as a life partner based solely on physical attraction or a couple of correctly answered questions.
I get that. It’s not for everyone.
But this post isn’t about that; it’s about what God brought to my mind after watching it that I want to share with you. The first thing He showed me is this:
We are all chosen by God and not rejected. We don’t have to convince Him to choose us. He already did.
In both The Bachelorette and The Proposal, the lady or man chooses who they like and reject who they don’t like, or simply don’t like as much. The ladies and men vying to win their hearts try so hard to be accepted, chosen and liked by the person with the power to keep them or send them home.
In the dating world on TV and in real life, to me, it often feels like it’s all about selling oneself. We want to be chosen, wanted, and liked- and so we want to present ourselves in a way that makes us come off desirable. Think about it. When you like someone, you want them to see the best in you, right? You want them to see you looking your best, at your best, doing your best. In these dating shows, it’s the same thing. The contestants work at putting their absolute best foot forward, and even then rejection happens.
God isn’t like that. He doesn’t reject us. Even when we mess up and sin, even when we’re terribly flawed and imperfect, God still loves us. He still welcomes us back in with open arms. He still chooses us. He still died for us.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8
Another cool thing God brought to my mind after watching this show is surprisingly, how similar it is in some ways to our eternal story with Jesus!
In my extended metaphor (#Englishmajor), we are the contestants, and He is the mystery person behind the “pod”. We spend our whole lives communicating with Him, and although we never see him face-to-face, we have a relationship with Him. We listen to what He has to say and learn about who He is. He listens to our stories, cares deeply to know about us, and wants to hear us talk to Him. Sometimes He asks us questions, and we respond to Him. He sees us, and He knows our faces, but we don’t know His face, yet we know Him.
In the end of our times, we will see him face-to-face. The One who has known our heart, the One we’ve communicated with, the One who has loved us so dearly: we will see Him. And what an exciting, thrilling moment that will be!
The story gets even better. Jesus offers us a promise of an eternal, forever life with Him. He chose us to be His bride. We are the ones He has been waiting to spend forever with. When we are united with God, it will be the beginning of a lifetime that has no end. Just like a lifetime with a partner on earth, except it’ll be without any flaws and 100% built on the life Jesus has promised us. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for that day!
What makes God different than the TV shows is this: He chooses everybody.
Everyone is chosen by Him and accepted by Him. We’re the ones with the choice to choose Him back. If we would only accept His proposal of salvation, we all get to go home and spend eternity with our Father. We don’t have to persuade Him to choose us; He already did. He made His mind up about it long ago, and He paid the ultimate price for it by dying on the cross. (In worldly words, He already bought that expensive ring and will gladly put it on if you only say yes).
We don’t have to work hard at earning His acceptance.
He doesn’t send us home. He doesn’t reject us. He doesn’t pick favorites. He is our forever, no matter if we ever have an earthly forever partner or not.
One of my favorite verses says, “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” -Isaiah 41:9
God’s Word is FULL of His affirmations over all of us.
I love digging into them, as words of affirmation is my main love language! Worship songs can have these kinds of affirmations, too. The other day on my drive home, I first heard Hillsong’s “Who You Say I Am” song, and the lyrics are amazing! I definitely recommend this song. Some of the words I really held onto after hearing it are, “I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am.”
So, take heart in God’s love! It beats any kind of love that reality TV shows could ever offer.
Hello! My name is Bonnie and I’m a senior English Education major. In college, I love being a resident assistant and writing tutor as well as other campus involvements! My favorite ways to spend free time is through writing, being with friends and family and growing closer to the Lord.
Read more guest posts by Bonnie.
You can also find Bonnie at delightedlydependent.weebly.com – Her brand new blog!! :)
