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 1:5,6
No one needs a course on how to be selfish. We don’t need an internet instructional video to show us how. It’s not an option, it comes as standard equipment.
“Nobody’s going to tell me what to do.” With arms folded tight and a frown on their face, many two-year-old’s say this. They probably don’t know the deep psychological meaning of what they’re saying. All they know is that they want what they want.
Later on in their teen years, that same person says something a little bit different. “Nobody’s going to tell me what to do” is now quickly followed by “Nobody’s going to tell me what to think.” This completes the circle.
This is how we react to the idea of predestination. We stiffen our backs and get ready for a fight. Nobody’s going to force me to do anything I don’t want to. But we’re missing what comes before and after.
In Love
What is God’s overwhelming motivation? Love. God is love[1] so everything he does, says, and thinks is motivated by his wanting nothing but the very best for us. It’s like making a cake, you can’t just pour out the ingredients. They have to go into a bowl. Everything God does is inside the container of his love.
But what is the result that God is shooting for? What is his goal for predestination? Where does it end?
Adoption
His love and predestination end with our being adopted by God. But this is not an adoption of a baby. It’s oh so much more. This is his giving us his name and all the rights that go along with being adult children.
This is the object of predestination, taking us from the hoy mess we’ve made of ourselves and this life, and transforming us into his adult children. This gives us power to live in his name. We are given the right to use the name of our great heavenly Father to open doors. We are given his resources to do great things in his name.
Predestination is not an awful, brutal removal of our right to choose. It’s God’s powerful and loving choice to bring us to himself. And that predestination has a goal in mind.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:29
It’s his deep desire for you and me to conformed to the image of Jesus. God wants our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes to be just the same as Jesus’. Our inner heart is to be remade so that our outward life looks just like that of Jesus.
When people see us, they should see Jesus. When they are far away, they will only see a distant image of Jesus in us. But the closer they get, the greater and clearer Jesus should appear in our life.
Can you imagine a world filled with millions of people who live, work, speak, laugh, and seek justice just like Jesus would? What would schools be like if they were filled with people who lived out their lives like Jesus did?
And now to ask the really tough question. How would the world be different if millions of people lived like Jesus during this pandemic? How would they treat each other? How would they discuss the different important questions raised about masks? Vaccinations? How would they act and speak when they met someone with different opinions? How would they act on an airplane?
I truly believe that we need more and more people living, speaking, acting like adult sons and daughters of Jesus. More than ever, our neighborhoods, our country needs adult daughters and sons standing up and living lives like Jesus did.
Wouldn’t you like to be one of those people? Someone who stands up, in love, for the right. Someone who does and speaks kindness, motivated by the love of God within them. To be that person who puts their arm around someone broken, in distress.
I think you want to be that person. But it starts with letting him install himself as Lord. His choosing you. His selecting you. That’s the only option that makes sense.
Noodling Questions
How does God dealing with you in love change the way you think about yourself?
How is adoption a different way to belong to a family?
If God truly chose you, what does that say about him? About you?
[1] 1 John 4:16
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