6For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:16,17)
Thoughts: God is a God who does not stay away from us- transcendent, holy other, and distant. He maintains His holiness but reveals Himself. Part of what makes Him holy is His love. His love is also a good and holy love. God, however, chooses those to whom He reveals Himself. This is the scandal of particularity and election. Often we ask the question why does God not reveal Himself to all of us- picking us all or none. We would claim it is unfair for God to pick any to save. Perhaps we would rather that God left us all alone and saved none? The truth is absolutely none of us deserve salvation. Noah did not deserve to be saved from the flood. He showed that afterwards. Rather Noah found grace- undeserved favor- in the eyes of the Lord. Lot did not deserve to be saved from Sodom. David did not deserve to be chosen as king. None of the disciples deserved to be chosen- they all denied, betrayed, or ran away from the Lord. Why would Jesus choose to reveal Himself to these twelve? It is the scandal of grace and love. No one deserves love, but when one is chosen to be loved it is a beautiful thing. We are dust but God chooses to make some dust life. We are clay and God has the right as the potter to mold the clay as He wills- choosing some to make a beautiful pot. Jesus did not heal everyone when He was on earth. But He healed some.
When God chose Israel it was not that they deserved it. When the Lord Jesus chose the disciples it was not that they deserved it or chose Him first. When God chooses to open our eyes- and make His revelation in scripture real to us- it is a gift that we do not deserve, and we should not squander it. God is the difference maker. He culls us out- to make a difference in our lives that we might make a difference in the world for good.
It is God's differentiation of us that makes us different and holy (meaning separate). Not all faiths are the same. To not be able to differentiate between the faith of someone who worships a piece of wood, or someone whose worship inspires terrorism, and the Christian way of love is naiive at best. The one who wishes to disavow themselves from all religion because of the abuse of religion by others, loses the gift that faith gives of adding value, purpose, hope, and love to simple atoms and chemicals. The great experiments of the last century of disavowing from faith killed themselves by the cruelty of the Gulags, the killing fields, or Mao's cultural revolution along with the clear selfishness of their leaders. Everyone lives by some system or lack thereof in life. It is important to be able to distinguish between beliefs that are good for society and those that are not. If we cannot do this, we cannot truly distinguish between right and wrong. Who your God is defines your ethics. If your god is tolerance of all- then no belief or behavior should matter. In this passage in Deuteronomy 7 the people of God are called to be holy- to be different because the God who chose them is holy and different from the world. Certainly a part of that holiness is love even for those who differ from us.
When God chose Israel it was not that they deserved it. When the Lord Jesus chose the disciples it was not that they deserved it or chose Him first. When God chooses to open our eyes- and make His revelation in scripture real to us- it is a gift that we do not deserve, and we should not squander it. God is the difference maker. He culls us out- to make a difference in our lives that we might make a difference in the world for good.
It is God's differentiation of us that makes us different and holy (meaning separate). Not all faiths are the same. To not be able to differentiate between the faith of someone who worships a piece of wood, or someone whose worship inspires terrorism, and the Christian way of love is naiive at best. The one who wishes to disavow themselves from all religion because of the abuse of religion by others, loses the gift that faith gives of adding value, purpose, hope, and love to simple atoms and chemicals. The great experiments of the last century of disavowing from faith killed themselves by the cruelty of the Gulags, the killing fields, or Mao's cultural revolution along with the clear selfishness of their leaders. Everyone lives by some system or lack thereof in life. It is important to be able to distinguish between beliefs that are good for society and those that are not. If we cannot do this, we cannot truly distinguish between right and wrong. Who your God is defines your ethics. If your god is tolerance of all- then no belief or behavior should matter. In this passage in Deuteronomy 7 the people of God are called to be holy- to be different because the God who chose them is holy and different from the world. Certainly a part of that holiness is love even for those who differ from us.
Prayer: Lord, in your holiness you make choices. Keep me from doubting your choices or fairness, for you define what is right because you made all that is seen. Keep me from squandering the choice you have made by unbelief or failing to make a difference in this life.
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