0507 WHY ME? ELECTION

WHY ME? ELECTION 

It comes up far more often than you might think. The concept of God predetermining someone’s future. Especially if that future is not one of blessing and salvation. I mean, why Jacob and not Esau? Before they were born, even! Why the nation of Israel and not the Gentiles? Why would a God of love send people to eternal punishment? While we’re at it, why are some creatures insignificant (mosquitos, for example) and others are worthy of saving (endangered species, for example)? 

I think the matter of people having free will is a bit confusing, but at least it leaves a person’s fate completely as their own responsibility. So I’ll take another running start at it:

Tell me if each of these pairs of things is acceptable or not, and why.

An artist creates an exquisite painting and then destroys it. Then creates a simple logo for a product and sells it for a million dollars.

A chef creates a hundred versions of a recipe, trying to get the balance of ingredients and the baking process refined to perfection. The chef threw out some of the early products, and gave some of them to a homeless shelter.

A doctor has developed a new surgical procedure, with amazing success. He operates on a 90-year-old billionaire, but refuses to do the procedure on a 50-year old undocumented immigrant.

A woman has an abortion in her second trimester because the doctors tell her the baby has a deformity and will likely have a low quality of life. A woman’s husband pressures her into aborting their baby because he wasn’t ready to be a father yet.

A farmer lets his land go fallow for a year, while he leaves to go on a year-long tour of Europe. An angry protester sets a store on fire, destroying the contents of the building and causing the store owner to go bankrupt.

Is that enough? What common themes did you notice in your answers? I hope that something you realized you often said was, “If it is theirs, they can do anything they want with it. Someone who doesn’t rightfully own it has no jurisdiction over it, and can voice an opinion but not touch someone else’s property without permission.”

A hidden question behind all these things is this: “Are we gods, or not?” Try going back through the questions and ask yourself if the particular action stated, or a nuance added to the scene, puts a certain ownership on the property. If so, then the Creator of that property can do whatever pleases the Creator. You might not LIKE what the person did, but you would defend their RIGHT to do it.

Now we are there: If God loves us, why would God create a person who is destined for anything less than a positive life? If God is righteous and just, why love Jacob; more accurately, why hate Esau? If God is all-powerful, why create someone whom He knew would not be in heaven? For that matter, why would God create anyone who is below average? What gives Him the right to destine someone for poverty, or political oppression, or chronic disease? What did the person do to deserve such ill treatment from their creator?

Now let’s get back to the questions at hand, and see Paul’s answers:

“So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.” Romans‬ ‭9:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?” No, don’t say that. 

This is such a profound insight into our relationship with God, and I’m struggling to put it into words. If, in fact, God is the Sovereign One over his creation, why would we criticize his actions?

Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:19-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Old Testament prophet Job faced unspeakable loss, and then in his suffering Job dared to ask God some similar questions. “Why me? This is unfair! I am innocent! God, why don’t you speak to me about this?”

God responded by demonstrating his awesome power and saying, “Who dares to ask me questions about things you do not understand? Can you take care of the universe for even a day? Can you create all this?” God’s answer strikes me as similar to what Mom used to say: “Because I said so, that’s why!” 

Then Job replied, “I have spoken, but I was wrong. I put my hand to my mouth.” And God proceeded to tell Job and his friends that He was sovereign. But God never told Job that he had gone ahead and made arrangements with Satan to test his friend Job. It was far too complex for Job to wrap his head around.

Time to stop talking and start listening. Amen.