IN GOD'S LOVE 2

 

IN GOD’S LOVE 2

Eph. 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. NLT

Reread today’s verse. God loved us and chose us in Christ. Isn’t that amazing? The God of the universe took a personal interest in us and chose us. I will never fully grasp why God would seek me out and chose me to live in Christ and for Him, but I am so glad He did!

God chose us in Christ. Acts 4:12 There is no other way for God to claim me as

His own. There is no other way for God to straighten up my life. There was no other way for God to use me for His glory. There was no other way for God to have an eternal relationship with me. Jesus is the way. John 14:6 If it weren’t for Jesus, I would be among the outcasts of the world, lost and dying in my sins.

In God’s love, we are chosen by Him. He chose us to be His children. He chose us to be the objects of His love. Before the foundation of the world was laid, He planned our existence, essence, and escape. Gen. 1:26,27; Gal. 5:22,23; Heb. 9:26-28

God chose us to be a holy people. His plan for us is to be holy; in fact, He demands it. I Pet. 1:13-16 If we love God, we will obey Him and live holy lives. Heb. 7:23-28 We have to look at ourselves through the eyes of our Lord. Do we see someone who is living above reproach? Do we see someone who is meeting God’s expectations for his life? Do we see someone who chooses godliness over sin? Do we deliberately not sin against God?

God chose us. There is a lot of varied understandings of what this means, and I am not going to try and satisfy everyone with my understanding. I think we miss the point when we focus on whether or not we have a choice whether we will be saved or not depending on God’s choices. The point that we must all agree upon is that we are chosen by God to be like Jesus in holiness of character. Rom. 8:28-29 Our concern must be our living up to God’s standards, not trying to determine who can or cannot be saved. Our concern must be to tell everyone about the Lord whom we can and leave the rest in the Lord’s hands. We must humble ourselves before God if we are His children and thank Him for choosing us. We must humbly beseech the Lord on behalf of the lost that they might be saved. Pray that the lost will hear and be given opportunities to be saved. What happens between them and the Lord is their business, not ours to decide.

God chose us to be His hands and feet on earth. We are the Christ people see. Let us always strive to attract people to Christ by the way we love Him, represent Him, and serve Him. Let us strive to not let anyone go to hell because of the way we represent Him on earth.