Ephesians 1:3-14
3 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, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
… just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
If you really want to get into a spirited discussion at a family gathering, or other social event, just ask what people think about predestination. While I don’t actually recommend doing that, it’s never a dull conversation.
There are Christian denominations that believe that we grow into our salvation through a lifelong process called “sanctification”. There are others who believe that we receive salvation at the moment when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Still others believe that there are a certain number of people, perhaps 144,000, who were predestined for salvation before the beginning of time. They can do nothing to lose their salvation and everyone else can do nothing to earn it. The tricky part is that no one but God knows who those 144,000 are.
All of these beliefs, along with many others, have grown from the same root. God wants to welcome us into eternal life after our life in this world ends. As St. Paul reminds us in todays reading, that was all accomplished on our behalf “before the foundation of the world” through the saving action of Jesus. We have already been chosen.
So, is predestination a real thing? I would say that it is, with a qualification. I believe that God predestined before the foundation of the world that Jesus would one day come into the world so that all people might be saved through him.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for choosing me as your own beloved child long before I had any opportunity to earn it or to mess it all up! AMEN