Chosen

In my teen girls class I teach on Sunday mornings we are studying Ephesians 1 and the main thing that kept jumping out to me was the word “Chosen” and “adopted”. I had to really let that sink in, especially in light of the truth in Romans 5 that says that God sent His son to die for us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS! He didn’t wait for us to get our stuff together and become righteous by our actions, His Son’s blood, that was shed on the cross, is what makes us righteous! “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Romans 5:6-8,10-11 It’s the same with a loving Christlike church, you don’t have to wait until you aren’t a sinner, because it’s time with Christ and a Christlike church family that helps you break free from the bondage that sin has on us all. So let that really sink in, it gave Him great pleasure in choosing His children to adopt for eternity! (Side note: It’s important to remember God knows all things...past, present and future and He knew our heart and spirit before we were born. So don’t confuse Gods choosing process with the mean spirited way choosing takes place here on earth with humans. God is a good, fair and loving God...all the time! Not to mention wise beyond our comprehension.) So, who are His children? How do you know if you were chosen? We are all God’s creation but we are not all God’s children. 1 John explains this more “Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.” 1 John 3:6-10 Scripture also refers to His children as His sheep and as His “sheep” (children) we sense His calling us and guiding us. We desire to please Him instinctively. On the other hand, children who belong to the devil, do not. It’s important to add that we also have the option to accept God’s gift of adoption and believe Christ died for our sins. Here’s an excerpt from an article on “gotquestions.org” that explains that better. “If God is choosing who is saved, doesn’t that undermine our free will to choose and believe in Christ? The Bible says that we have the choice—all who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). The Bible never describes God rejecting anyone who believes in Him or turning away anyone who is seeking Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). Somehow, in the mystery of God, predestination works hand-in-hand with a person being drawn by God (John 6:44) and believing unto salvation (Romans 1:16). God predestines who will be saved, and we must choose Christ in order to be saved. Both facts are equally true. Romans 11:33 proclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” So, if your reading this, God’s calling you to Himself. So let it sink in, that He loves you and He chose you...even knowing all of the ugly dirty sins you may have in your life!! So instead of hiding from Him, turn to Him and accept His love and grace and let Him guide you on the path to freedom and eternal life ❤️