II Thessalonians 2:13
“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
This verse refers to God’s election of us, “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation”. This is one of the mysteries of God. It is so, because other passages claim that we are to choose God. “Choose this day whom you will serve”, (Joshua 24:15). How is it that He has chosen us from long ago, yet we are to choose Him? It’s easy to get confused and miss the intended blessing of being chosen. There is much about God that we will not understand. We accept it and trust Him to work it out.
We should enjoy the blessing of this election. He chose us. He made this choice from the beginning of creation. I’m not sure of the reason. I know He loves us and David says we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). This should clear up any insecurities we have.
Our sin nature inherited from Adam focuses on need and lack. Adam felt that shame and hid from the Lord (Genesis 3:10). Even though we are redeemed, we still have that “not enough” reflex. The Lord wants to work that out of us. Today’s passage helps. He chose us. We are to rejoice in that. We weren’t last to be chosen and God wasn’t forced to choose us. He did so from the beginning. It was part of His plan.
We all enjoy love stories. Two people brimming with infatuation who can’t stop thinking of one another. The bible says we are the bride of Christ. God uses the greatest love comparison to describe our relationship with Him. We grow in love with Him in time.
Lord, thank You for choosing us. Let the reality of that act sink in. May it cause us to “love Thee more dearly”.