YOU ARE A PERFECT FIT

FOR THE JOB AHEaD

The first verse of this text was a favorite my mother often quoted, but I don’t recall her ever getting involved in a discussion of the rest of the text. Two of my uncles by marriage, often became engrossed in a heated “discussion” of the use of the word “predestinate” in the other portion. One was a firm believer in “predestination” while the other, as far as I could see, was so uninformed in scripture that his opinions could be ignored entirely. Mother used to say of the two of them that they would argue with a fence post. Let us hope that we can do a little better than that.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might, be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30.

You will recall that when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, they ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree that was in the midst of the garden. Satan, the master of deceptions, used a half-truth. Hs said that they would be like God in that they would know good and evil, to deceive them. Adam had been created in the image of God, but was not aware, at this stage of good and evil. God, knowing what was best for them, had forbidden them to eat, or even touch the fruit of that particular tree. We all start out, like them, not knowing the difference between good and evil. Satan used that half-truth to lead Eve, probably the most easily deceived of the two, to just taste that fruit. That was the first sin, disobedience. With the “Pandora’s box” opened; all the rest followed in quick order. Man is not like the animals. They have no knowledge of good or evil. Man was created to use his brain to logically plan and make decisions. He is not a robot, mindlessly going through life. He is, like God, able to think and come to conclusions.

Now what about the predestination side of the text? The choice of two phrases, “according to his purpose” and “whom he did foreknow” need to be considered here. God has a purpose for every person on this earth. Noah was born and used of God to save a new start for mankind following the flood. Moses was born and preserved that he might lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt to the land of promise. Elijah was sent to be the major prophet to announce the Messiah to come. John to be his forerunner, and to introduce him. These are but a few examples, We could go on to Peter, the leader of the apostles, and Paul the evangelist to the Gentile world.

As God sent each of these, He also sent us, even the unborn who have been slaughtered without a chance to be used. They had been unable to fulfill their purpose; perhaps that is the reason the world is in such a state today. Those who succeed, he calls, he justifies, and he will glorify in time to come. We have been assured that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” He knew them from the beginning. He knows them now, and he will reward them when the time is right.

God has chosen each of us for a purpose. Even as Jesus repeatedly assured his apostles, “It is not yet my time,” when the time came he sent Judas to go do his task. Judas was to be the betrayer, just as John the Baptist was to be the forerunner, and Peter to preach at Pentecost. Each to his own task, for good or bad. And that includes all of us as well.