The Mystery of Being Chosen

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV).

 

Our dog, Teddy, is a rescue terrier. After our previous dog became so ill and died, I was hesitant to get another dog. The pain and emotional distress of such a loss, I was simply not ready to begin that journey again. Mary was ready much quicker than I. Every Saturday she would make a trip to the PetSmart where Russel Rescue was set up to assist people in adopting a dog from their kennels. I happened to working in the shop that day and received a call from her informing me she had found the dog for us. She said, “I’m coming to get you to see him. They will hold him until I get back with you.” If that sounds like I had no choice, well, Mary often needs to nudge me into action. We went and sure enough, he was ready for me to fall in love with. He is a cutie, and I do love him. He is a part of our family.

 

The Apostle Paul talks about our adoption and being chosen by God to be a part of His family in our reading today. It should inspire us that God has been pleased to create us for fellowship with him. God knew that through the sacrifice of Jesus we would become His sons and daughters. His plan for our lives is to include us in his story. It wasn’t enough that God created us and made us his image bearers; he also loves us and wants to live in relationship with us.

 

When our lives reflect the realization of all this, we display God’s glory and his love, and something changes in us. We carry ourselves with the knowledge that we belong and are part of God’s family. It is a great mystery why God chose; however, it is no mystery that He has adopted me into His family for an eternal relationship of blessing and grace.