The Blessing of His Election

[Imelda L. Javier]

The Blessing of His Election By Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “You did not choose me, but I chose you  and appointed you to go and bear fruit —fruit that will last.” (John 15:16) As the Apostle Peter began penning the words of 1 Peter, he became so overwhelmed with the blessings of God in Jesus Christ that the first thing he did was count the blessings! Today we are going to look at the first blessing Peter identifies: a gratitude to God for His sovereign call on us. In the Old Testament the people of Israel were called the “chosen people” because they were chosen by God. And then in the New Testament, the believers in Jesus Christ are called the chosen people. We are chosen by God! And in 1 Peter 1:2, Peter calls Christians in the northern part of modern-day Turkey “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” I used to be one of those people who thought that because I walked down the aisle and I received Christ that meant that I had something to do with my salvation. The day I began to understand that God called me, that God chose me, that God saved me before the earth was ever founded—it wasn’t enough for me to be on my knees before God, I had to get on my face before Him! When this truth began to penetrate my life, ethics, and morality, my pride didn’t like it one bit! My pride wanted to boast about my salvation! But the Bible doesn’t give me any room to boast. In 1 Peter 1:1-2, we read that our salvation is entirely the work of the Holy Trinity. God the Father chooses us, God the Son redeems us, and God the Holy Spirit calls us and fills us by his Spirit! When was the last time you thanked God for the blessing of His election of you to believe and be saved? Prayer: Father, thank You for choosing me to believe in You and to be saved! Forgive me for overlooking the most important blessing of all! Amen.