Day 2: God Chose Us to Ship Grace and Peace

The concept of predestination is a touchy topic in some Christian circles. But through Paul in Ephesians, God tells us that he chose us before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and predestined us to be adopted as sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5). It can be tempting to think that we have God all figured out, but the truth is quite different. Ephesians 1:4–5 causes us to remember that our relationship with God was clearly his idea. We are his people purely through the grace he has given us.

We also know that predestination is just one part of the whole equation. Ephesians 1:13 clearly states that we must believe in God. Believing is our part. By believing, we get to choose to allow Jesus to take charge of our life. We get to choose to accept the grace and peace that he freely gives. But we also recognize that God chose us first; therefore, he’s not surprised that we’ve chosen him in return. He predestined us for adoption as sons and daughters and made arrangements for us to be holy and blameless before him. God came up with a plan to balance the scales.

God has blessed us in heavenly places through Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). Grace is a part of the blessing. So if we follow Jesus Christ, we can rest in the fact that he chose us. And in choosing us, he has given us a purpose. We’re given good works to walk in (Ephesians 2:10) and a measure of grace to accomplish those good works (Ephesians 4:7). Even the works that we've been called to do have been chosen for us. It’s our job to get on the clock and go to work.

Let’s make an effort to clock in with Jesus wherever we find ourselves. Let’s remind ourselves that we are here to do the good works he planned for us to do before time began. We can trust that if we meet God, God will meet us and put us to work among the very people he chose for us to impact.