A friend and I were having a conversation over lunch about predestination. It is a topic that has divided many over the years.
Ephesians 1:5 says, “In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” Verse 11 of the same chapter says, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him…” There are many other verses in the Bible that talk about us being called or chosen.
How does one reconcile the fact that God has already predestined some to be saved versus the practice of our free will in making our decision to accept His salvation plan (or not)? And further, is God not being fair when He predestined some to be saved and not others?
We talked a lot during our conversation, but never came to any conclusion. In thinking about this more, I realized the truth in Isaiah 55:8-9 that God’s ways and thoughts are higher than what my limited mind can fully comprehend. The human heart is filled with questions for God: “Why?”, “When?”, “How?”, etc. It is futile to try to find all the answers.
That’s why our “religion”, or rather our relationship and our walk with God is called our “faith”. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. I realized I don’t need all the answers, but I need to work more on my faith in the God whose ways and thoughts are much higher than mine. And ultimately, I take comfort to know that “in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”.
Deacon Michael Teo
