What were the odds that God Himself would call and choose you, particularly? Out of about 5 billion people, or even among the billions who have lived through 6,000 years, He picked you personally. As Romans 11:33 states, God's ways are past finding out, yet He chose the weak, the base, and the foolish to shame the wise, the mighty, and the noble, as mentioned in I Corinthians 1:26-28. There must be something in you that He likes, for His election is not random; He saw something He could use. John 6:44 reveals that He specifically draws those He wants to be part of His Son's Body, and Romans 8:28 affirms that He calls us according to His purpose, where everything works for good for those who love Him. This calling is no small thing; we have attracted the attention of the one Being in the universe with the power, ability, and wisdom to do what is right always. It is a priceless gift, as II Timothy 1:9 declares, for He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, given in Christ Jesus before time began. It is a gift He deemed wise to bestow, and we had no part in initiating it, yet it demands much to live up to. We are commanded to maintain this calling, as II Peter 1:10 urges us to be even more diligent to make our call and election sure, promising that if we do these things, we will never stumble. Though Romans 11:29 states that God's gifts and calling are irrevocable, there is no contradiction; He does His part perfectly, but we must do ours in return. Peter emphasizes growth and bearing fruit, listing a ladder of virtues in II Peter 1:5-11—faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love—to be diligently added and made to abound in us. If these are ours, we will be neither barren nor unfruitful, and an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be supplied. None of this striving toward the Kingdom would be possible without the opportunity given through our calling. He chose each one of us to climb this ladder of virtues toward perfection of character and entrance into His Kingdom. This chance to be part of His Family now, to fight against the pulls of this age, and to attain a better resurrection as His firstfruits under Jesus Christ, is a precious blessing. We are His brethren, as Colossians states, the firstborn among many, and our response to this calling reflects the value we place on it.