We have been chosen to be God's special people because of our faith in Jesus Christ. In today's passage of the Letter to the Ephesians, St Paul says, "It is in Christ that we were claimed as God's own, chosen from the beginning." We should be grateful to be part of God's holy people.

St Paul continues to say that we have been chosen for God's greater glory. There is a mission in being chosen; we are called to bring God's greater glory to others and the world around us. This uniqueness is not merely for our own sake but for God's greater glory. This speciality of ours is not inward-looking but outward in its reach. Therefore, we can proclaim, not necessarily with words but with deeds, that we are God's chosen people.

Besides being also stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit, we are given freedom and freed from slavery to sin by the salvation brought about by Christ. We can practise this freedom by living a life free from sin and committing to following Jesus.

Due to this freedom, we have no inordinate fear of punishment from God when we fall into sin because we are worth more than hundreds of sparrows, as Jesus consoles us today. God, in His mercy, forgives us our sins as long as we repent and return to Him each time.