Have you been chosen?

Until I was about 10 years old, I was just called "Fatty" by the children in our neighbourhood. Therefore, I was very often the last one to be chosen in games that required some physical skills. In fact, that felt like not being chosen at all.

 

In the Bible, in chapter 1 and verse 4 in the book called Ephesians, it says that "... He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, ...".

 

God chose us before the foundation of the world. Some may say; but if He chose who would be Christians before we were born, and even before the foundation of the world, is that fair? Isn't it then predestined which persons who will be saved and which persons who will not be saved? Don't we have a free will? Does it even matter what you believe in your life, if God had already decided long before you were born who would be saved?

 

Yes, it definitely matters what you believe! Because that is what decides your destiny. God did not decide that you should be saved and that your neighbour should not be saved. He did not rule out anyone. But what does it mean when the above mentioned scripture says that God chose us before the foundation of the world? The key to answer this question is "in Him" in the verse above. This refers to Jesus Christ. God chose us in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. It means that even before the foundation of the world, God decided that only people who receive Jesus Christ are chosen to be saved. Therefore, we have a free will and our belief will decide our destiny. If we receive Jesus Christ, we are chosen by God. If we do not receive Jesus Christ, we are not chosen by God.

 

My lacking skills to move fast as a little boy kept me from being chosen by the other children. Our skills can qualify us to be chosen for a job, and lack of skills can keep us from being chosen for a job.

 

God is absolutely wonderful and amazing! He does not require certain skills from me. Nor from you. He required the necessary skills from Jesus. And on the cross 2,000 years ago, Jesus completed what was necessary and thereby He made us qualified. So if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are chosen by God!