More Than Chosen

"Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the beloved." - Ephesians 1:5-6 (NKJV)

There are two great train tracks in Scripture that run parallel to one another. One is God's sovereignty, which simply means His purpose will never be thwarted by man. The other track is man's free will, which means I can choose to follow Jesus or not. These tracks run parallel, and if you look far down the road, it's almost as if you can see them meeting somewhere, but as you walk further, they never meet. You don't need to try to explain one of these things away. God in His sovereignty created us with free will.

God in His foreknowledge knows who is going to say "Yes" to Him. Think about this in terms of marriage. When I asked my wife to marry me, I had the ring selected, bought, and paid for. I was all ready to do it. Yes, there was anticipation about what she would say, but in the back of my mind, I kind of knew from every indication that she would say "Yes".

God didn't just choose you; He adopted you. In the Roman culture, something was interesting about adoption. You could actually disown a biological child, but you could never disown an adopted child. Why? Because a biological child was what you got, but an adopted child was what you chose. You knew exactly what you were getting, and you chose them anyway.

Similarly, it should be comforting to know that God looked at you, too, with all your flaws and said, "I want that one in My family." You said "Yes". Now, you were chosen and adopted, and once you're adopted, you can never be un-adopted. You are forever in the family of God! Hallelujah!

Reflection Question: In what ways does knowing that God specifically chose to adopt you change how you see your place in God's family and your relationship with other believers?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for not just choosing me, but for adopting me into Your family. Let this truth anchor my heart and give me confidence to live boldly for You, knowing that my identity is secure in Christ. I pray I can show You each day how much I love You, too. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "God's Eternal Plan" (Ephesians 1:4-6): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/zqvqn4g/3-god-s-eternal-plan-eph-1-4-6