Acts 1:15-26
When, in Acts 1, Matthias is chosen to take the place of Judas, it meant that another man was not chosen. His name? Joseph Barsabbas Justus. The man no one remembers.
That's mainly because he wasn't chosen. But it's partly because three names is a lot to remember. The last of his names, Justus, was likely a nickname. It means "just, upright, impartial." He was an especially godly, pious man. A man who sought God's will and glory, not his own. A man who led me to write these words:
We praise You, Lord, for Joseph,
The one You did not choose.
A man who surely loved You,
A man You surely used.
May we, like him, desire
Whatever You may choose,
And learn, with him, the lesson:
In Christ we cannot lose!
These words are a prayer to be sung (to the tune of Lutheran Service Book 517) or simply spoken.
We lose in life if we say, "My will be done." We win when we pray, "Thy will be done."
In Christ, who is risen, ascended, and praying for us, we cannot lose!
