Chosen Beforehand

Yesterday I picked up the latest copy of Bicycling magazine from the magazine rack in our house and read about the favorites in the Tour de France. It was interesting to read the article after the race was finished. The rivalry which was heralded on the front cover between Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador never materialized, due to some bad luck for Armstrong in the early stages of the race that cost him big chunks of time. The real battle in the Tour this year was between Contador and Schleck, who was also mentioned as a favorite, but was not really expected to win. Other favorites named included Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans and Dennis Menchov. Only one of those three finished on the Podium in Paris, so the writers for Bicycling were only half right about their top picks.

I'm sure it was nice for the riders who were chosen in advance to be GC contenders to read about themselves before the race even started, but it didn't change the outcome any. Writers can speculate all they want about who will do well, but the real race takes place on the roads of France and decides the winner.

There is one instance of being chosen beforehand that does make a difference, however. John tells us about it in Revelation 13:8: "All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." John warns that all those who are not among the elect will succumb to the seduction of the beast's blasphemy. They will not endure until the end. But the chosen ones will stand firm until the end and exhibit faith and endurance that will allow them to experience eternity with the Lamb who was slain.

This verse makes clear the fact that our salvation is a gift of God's grace. We are not responsible for our own salvation. No, in fact, we were chosen "in [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." (Ephesians 1:4-5) Certainly, if God chose us before creation to be his own, then nothing we do could be the cause of, or contribute to our salvation. It is a pure gift of God's grace.

This is also a great source of comfort when life is full of tribulation and it's difficult to stand firm in the faith. We know that since we were chosen by God in advance, He will keep us safe in Christ unto eternal life. Our names were written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world.

There is actually some question whether that phrase (before the foundation of the world) should be connected with names written in the book of life or whether it refers to the Lamb who was slain. It really doesn't make any difference. Before creation God chose his Son to die for our sins and in eternity Christ consented to die in our place. As a result, it is as though he was slain before the foundation of the world. And at that same time, before the world began, God chose us in Christ to be holy and blamless through Christ, so that we could have eternal life with Him. The two go hand in hand, and because they do we need have no fear about the trials that may come before the end of time. God will preserve us safely to the end, because we were chosen and our names were written in the Lamb's book of life before time began.

So our situation is much better than that of the GC contender's in Bicycling magazine. Their pick didn't make a difference. Our being chosen beforehand assures us of eternal life in Christ. Praise God for his grace in saving us!