Chosen by grace, chosen by love.

Church,

Do you remember choosing Jesus as your Lord and Savior when you feared that not doing so would have enlisted you to all sorts of sufferings? I remember. I didn’t want any evil things to be happening to me. I had believed that it was within my power to do as God said so I promised to do God’s will and that by “doing” so I was guaranteeing myself of no evils or sufferings. Then, when religion started getting burdensome, I walked away from religion having believed that I was done with those professing to be followers of Christ and yet their walks and works seemed to have said the opposite. For a moment, I thought that Jesus must be done with me then since I had walked away from those who claim to be following him.

But when I heard the gospel again through Basic Gospel apart of religion, formerly People to People Ministry, I realized that it wasn’t me who chose Jesus but He who chose me to die for me and be buried for me and was resurrected for me.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Fear of hell caused me to claim Jesus as Lord and Savior. But the love of God testified in the gospel caused me to know Jesus as my Everything.

No other lasting source of joy for me other than the love of God. God chose me. That’s very reassuring.

Let’s hear the sweet gospel again:
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Rejoice in Christ to the glory of God.

Rejoice.