My childhood friend Woodrow could walk on his hands, climb anything, and do crazy things with bicycles. He would have made an excellent athlete if his family had not driven him toward intellectual pursuits.
One day in 12th-grade English class, he shouted me down:
“The only reason you’re a Christian is because that’s the way your parents raised you. If you had been born in India, you would be a Hindu.”
Woodrow was convinced my faith was meaningless and entirely predetermined by the culture I was born into. What could I say to that? It’s a fair point. But I immediately saw the answer:
“That may be true, but I was NOT born in India.”
“But what if you were?”
“But that’s my point—God chose to put me here, with the family that I have. He blessed me with the knowledge of Christ and now I, or some missionary that I support, can go to India and share the Good News with them.”
Class ended and Woodrow bolted out the door, angry.
“Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses, ‘I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ So then, it does not depend on human will but on God who shows mercy…. But who are you, oh man, to question God? Will what is created say to the Creator, why are you making me this way? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor?” Romans 9:14-16, 20-21.
My point is that God chose me—and all believers—to know Him and to share His love with others. Rather than obsess over the questions of predestination and free will, take a moment to thank Him and feel gratitude that you are part of the family of God. Yes, you COULD have been born into a tribe of idol worshipers. But you were not.
Praise God for His mercy; take the time to really reflect on what that means and how blessed you are. We owe Him our very lives.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 