Hand-Picked

Apologies for not writing for a couple of weeks. I currently don't have home internet, and with my recent move I've had the joy of transferring my details from one location to another and this has meant interacting with one of the banes of my existence: call centres.

I like to speak with people. I figure that with six billion or so of us on this planet, it is a good thing to be able to interact comfortably with others. This means conversation - and by that, I mean dialogue. So when I phone certain unnamed corporates who provide telecommunications services to me - lets call this company 'Satsuma' - I would ideally like to speak to a person.

However, my experiences this week have been little more than a painful negotiation of an endless number of automated voice menu's, each one requiring me to listen to a computerised sales pitch. Pressing a seemingly random combination of numbers in sequence finally allows me to deal with a person. However, this wasn't the end of my angst. Oh no. Upon trying to find out when my home service - that I am still paying for - becomes active, I was informed early January. I then asked how I would be informed that I could go online. The response?

"Oh, we'll send you an email."

So, my incommunicado status is temporary but still very frustrating.

In other news, my small group this week was pondering the doctrine of Election. Wayne Grudem, in his 'Systematic Theology' defines Election as "the act of God before Creation in which He chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure."

Ephesians 1:4 tells us that "(God) chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" and Galatians 1:15 says "(God)... set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace..." These verses, amongst others, are used to support the notion of God handpicking individuals purely as His choice, to be His and with Him forever.

In some ways, Election is a hard doctrine to believe. For me, I have questions about why certain people haven't been chosen - family members for example. Ultimately, Election is a belief that requires faith - faith in the righteous justice of God, and faith in his sovereignty. It is also humbling, because it means my freewill is, has, and always will be subject to the sovereign will of God.

Election also has many pastoral applications to it. These are some of the streams of blessings that spiral from this doctrine:

1. The goodness, kindness and grace of God is demonstrated to me. Why did He chose me? I did nothing to persuade God to choose me, because He made his selection before I was even born!

2. If God chose to save me and have me forever, it is his work. I cannot lose my salvation, because my power to sin can never triumph over his saving power.

3. I can see God desires relationship, friendship and intimacy with me. Because He chose me, called me and pursued me!

4. The pressure is off when it comes down to mission and evangelism. Mission becomes a matter of seeking out who else is Elect, and we partner with God in seeing people saved rather than cajoling or persuading them. There is a place for persuasion, but ultimately out of a place of security because salvation is born from God and not from Man.

5.I am delivered from earning God's favour through law and empty religion. It is more about His choices, actions and work than my choices, actions and works. I'm still elected, whether I feel it or have 'earned' it!

There are undoubtedly more, and of course not everyone would see Election like this. But I've been blessed this week by thinking simply this: In justice and fairness, I deserve Hell. But God so loved me, He chose me as one He would rescue from the fire. Simply because He is passionate about me. And there are many more He has rescued. Its just some don't know it just yet.

Wow.