What if in the New Testament being 'chosen' or 'predestined' or 'the elect' does not so much refer to holding a valid ticket to heaven, as it does to being picked out in order to be a blessing to God and to people? What if Christianity's failure is the same as that of Israel: We still don't get that we're chosen, not for our individual gain (personal salvation), but in order to be a blessing to the world?
What if being "a chosen people, a royal priesthood" does not seperate us from and elevate us over our neighbor? But instead it unites us with them, as we join them in their mess, the same mess that we came from, helping them up into a loving relationship with Father? Isn't that what Jesus did and still does? What if he continues to come alongside people, even in the place of the dead (Hades) to which he holds the keys? What if (his)"love never fails" and never gives up?
What if there can't be an eternal bliss for the elect in heaven (in this life and after), while people are still suffering in whatever hell they are in (in this life and after)? What if the shepherd doesn't rest until all his sheep are safe?
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son..."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't being "conformed to the image of his Son" mean doing the things that Jesus did? Yes, we are chosen to be a blessing to the world, not to win some eternal lottery.
And whom did God foreknow? Well - everybody. I can't imagine that any of us sneaked onto planet earth without His knowing about it.