God’s Love and the Power of Choice (Part 2)

Let’s suppose you have a very wealthy uncle who never married. Not having any progeny with whom to leave his estate upon his decease, the whole family is anxious to know who will benefit upon the execution of his will. The day finally arrives when his body is committed to the grave. The will is opened before every one. You feel a little overwhelmed when upon the reading of the will you are revealed to be the sole heir. Turns out, he made a choice many years ago to set his love upon you. He didn’t do it because of your gorgeous physical features, or your melodious singing voice, or because of your witty repertoire. He did it because of a promise made to your father so many decades before you were even born, and because he deliberately decided to love you for your father’s sake. However great a gift, the estate comes with a condition. You must use the money generated in the trust to help refugees obtain freedom from their political oppression, or the estate reverts to the government.

While not a perfect illustration, there is similarity to what God is trying to teach us regarding His kingdom and the people upon whom He choose to set His love. They were to be for Him witnesses to the world of His glorious character of love while functioning as a nation of kings and priests.

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” KJV, Deuteronomy 7:6-8, emphasis added.

God deliberately choose to redeem man. And when we choose Him as our Supreme King and Lord, He responds with blessings and protections of which we may know nothing until they are revealed to us in the earth made new.

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” KJV, Psalm 91:9-16, emphasis added.