Six Billion People

Ephesians 1:5-6

　
About two thousand years ago there was a man named Saul going around persecuting the Christians to the point of having them jailed and even killed. But God had a preordained plan and He reached down into time and space and brought Saul to his knees. Saul became Paul and God used Him, according to His plan, to change the world forever.

There are over six billion people in the world today. Somehow God is sovereign over all of us. Somehow we have been predestined according to His will. I have no idea how He goes about doing such a thing but He does it. No doubt, you can look back in your life and see how God has used people, places, experiences and the world around you to continually draw you to Him. Why does He do this?

Ephesians 1:4-6 in The Message gives us the answer. "Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son".

He loves us.

Can it be that simple? What did we do to deserve such love? There must be something we did to earn it right? Wrong! "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast".

We are like a child who wants to earn the praise and love of a parent by doing something special. But if you are a parent you know you will love that child no matter what.

What do we do as a result of His love?

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". These good works prepared in advance do not earn His love or our salvation. They are however, in response to His love, to reach out to others – the other 6 billion people in the world one at a time. We are God’s hands and feet to be a part of His plan to draw others to Him just as He drew you to Him.


http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians%201%3A5-6&version=NIV;MSG
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Eph.1.5-Eph.1.6