On This Day: A Child Who is Chosen by God

“But for the sake of the elect…” (Matthew 24:22)

 

   It was one of those mornings when my experiences of “disowning” were racing through my mind like “the little foxes that spoil the vineyards”. Yes, I was telling Father all about it.

   Then I continued reading through the heavy words of our Savior in Matthew 24 where he was describing what it would be like when Jerusalem was destroyed (happened about 40 years later in 70AD).

   But then I found this treasure of wisdom and knowledge with my name on it. In the mix of all the difficult things Jesus was saying was the phrase, “for the sake of the elect”. The elect. The chosen ones. The… WANTED!!!

   This has been both a life-changer and a hope-builder for me to realize the connection between Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22. Here’s the REALLY short story!

   In Genesis 1 and 2 we have the historical account of creation. It is a literal description of what God did to create “the heavens and the earth”. It happened the way it is described, not by some fairy-tale unscientific nonsense of the evolutionary religion! And the climax of God’s creative work was “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

   Now we know that it seemed to take no time at all before Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. I won’t belabor explaining all the damage that has done. Rather, I want to focus on God’s unending plan, to have a people of his very own who are in his own image and likeness.

   Many Christians take comfort in God telling us that he works all things together for good in the lives of those who love him and are called according to his good purpose. Few seem to see the connection to the next verse that describes what it means for God to work things “for good” in our lives. What is the good he is always working? That we would “be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:28-29).

   In this lifetime this is an ongoing process. Every day God is working everything we go through to make us more like Jesus. Paul describes this to Titus concerning the grace of God that is working in us that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). In this lifetime it means that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (II Corinthians 3:18).

   But it is the beautiful picture of Revelation 21 and 22 that tells us where this is going. First, we see that there will be “a new heaven and a new earth”. Then we see the “new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” And then “a loud voice from the throne” says this:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (21:1-4)

   This is what it means to be “the elect”, the deliberately chosen and adopted sons of the living God. Our sin-problem with God has been fully resolved in Jesus Christ our Lord. We are God’s work-in-progress now, and will be his glorified bride then.

   For me, every disowning will be forgotten when I see God smiling to dwell with us as our God (with me included) and “they” overjoyed to be with him as “his people” (with me included). I might even feel each individual tear of attachment-pain come to his attention and follow him out of my sin-free heart so that every rejection is healed never to be mourned again!

   The apostle John said, “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” There it is, when Jesus appears, we shall be LIKE HIM!!! And what does that do to us as we await that day? John continues, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (I John 3:1-3).

   And why do we do that? Because we want to be like him now as much as is possible this side of heaven as we await that glorious day when we shall see him and be like him forever!

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)