Chosen

"Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Eph. 1:4, ESV).

One of the many spiritual blessing bestowed upon us by the Father, through the Son, is that he has chosen us.  He has selected us to be his, in Christ, before the world was formed.  Before he formed Adam from the dust of the ground, God had chosen to love us.  There is a song that says that while Jesus was on the cross we were on his mind.  That song only captures part of the truth.  This verse suggests that before he said, "Let there be light," we were on his mind.  The choice was made in eternity, prior to the beginning of time.

It was a choice to accept us through Christ.  The cross was on God's mind, even as he planted the Garden of Eden and placed man there to work it.  The determined to offer up his Son, so he might display his infinite grace and mercy toward us.

It was a choice with a purpose.  We were chosen to be holy and blameless before him.  He desired to make us holy by the work of Christ on the cross, but also to make us holy and blameless through the working of the Spirit in our lives.  He has set us apart for the purpose of obeying his commands.  He is bringing about in us a spotlessness.  We have been cleansed by Christ's blood, and washed of every stain.

By choosing us, the Father has blessed us beyond comprehension.  Our fallen minds will never fully understand what it means to be chosen by God, to be the object of his delight and desire, to be free to serve and worship him, and to be able to approach him without blemish or spot.  We are his people, because he chose us.  We love him, because he loved us.  We pursue him, because he pursued us.  How richly blessed we truly are to be chosen by God.