It is wonderful to think that before I was even born, I was chosen by God to be His! He wanted me in His family. He cared about me way back in eternity, when I was just a dream in His heart. He already had His eye on me then, He already had wonderful plans for me, to bring me into His family and make me His child through both adoption as a 'son' and being born again of the Spirit by His own will! What a love plan!
We aren't accidents. We didn't just stumble into God's house. We didn't just find ourselves their by some lucky circumstance or even ultimately by our own doing. God planned for us to be His! We are important and valuable and He MEANT for us to come into His family!
I look back on my conversion and see lots of things that happened that God used to bring me to the end of myself, to the point of looking to Him. I look back at my decisions and at the things that happened that led to my trust in Him, and I see His hand all over things, and all over me! So many of the things that I decided, I see that He led me to the point of deciding.
I am not saying that as clearly as I want, but I think what I mean is: I made the choice to believe, but when I look back I see His hand and purpose led me to that choice. I believed, but I see how He gave me that faith and motivation to believe. I changed my mind (repented), but I see how He worked in His kindness and opened my mind to lead me to that repentance. In the end, I see with relief that I chose Him, yet, I ultimately really didn't - He chose me!
I chose Him because He chose me first! I loved Him because He loved me first! I believed in Him because He believed in me, believed I could be something, could be His child, first! I made my free decision with my will, yet His Spirit was behind the scenes working and bringing me to that point of decision! I think of Jesus saying to the disciples, "You did not chose Me, but I chose you.." He had a plan all along, had a purpose for my life that He brought about!
That is beautiful to me. It means it isn't ultimately up to me to get this Christian life going or to keep it going. I know if He chose me to be here with Him, He will keep me here with Him! I don't have to keep myself! I am chosen! God chose us, that means He'll keep us! We don't have to worry about "deciding" to be lost or losing this salvation. God chose us and brought us in, appointed us to eternal life, granted us repentance that leads to life, gave us like precious faith, leading us to repentance with His kindness, working out His will that He had before time, having predestined us to adoption as His sons: He foreknew us, He predestined us, He called us, He justified us, He glorified us! Done deal!
We are the elect, which just means we're chosen of God! Wanted, cared about, special, chosen! It isn't possible for us to be un-chosen, since the gifts of God are irrevocable! We have been given this gift of being chosen by God. We are elect, dearly loved children and He meant for us to be His all along! We aren't unimportant, we are of infinite value to Him! He has been thinking of us since before time began! He has been loving us all that time, marking us out, planning for us to know Him and to find ourselves in that love! In love He planned for us to be in His family always, held in His arms, enjoying His grace forever and radiating that His grace and love and glory and presence to the world, to bring more and more children into the family! What a wonderful God! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
