Those who follow Christ have two awesome responsibilities as the Chosen People of God: to live their lives as acceptable to God and to bring glory to God. God does not take delight in mediocrity and those who are watching our lives also does not appreciate mediocre lives.
There are a number of images the Book of Ephesians use to describe those who are believers in Christ Jesus. ‘For he chose us in him 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 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves’ (Eph.1:4-6). Eph 1:4-5 uses the image of chosen people adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ.
Chosen People: In the Bible, the word ‘chosen’ means selecting something after carefully considering the alternatives. When David went for a combat against the giant Goliath, he ‘chose’ five stones. Certainly there were many stones he could have picked up randomly. But the stones he picked up were ‘chosen’ ones. It indicates the special privilege that the chosen ones have.
In the New Testament, the Greek word used for ‘choosing’ is always used with God as subject and believers in Christ as objects. Moreover, it also is used in a particular grammatical form that indicates doing something for the benefit of the doer. Translated, it means, God chose who believe in Christ Jesus from the human race for himself. Thus for me to be a Christian it is more than being a believer or a devotee of Christ, though belief and devotion plays a major part in my spiritual life.
The fact that I am carefully chosen by God adds to my own self-image: it is a privilege, it means God considers me precious and valuable. Associated Responsibility: However, as all special privileges comes with responsibilities, so this one also. The chief purpose is that we will be blameless before God. The word, ‘blameless’ in the Bible means something that is without defect and thus acceptable to God. The verse quoted above concludes with a reminder of the responsibility or purpose of this election.
The purpose of election is that everyone who is thus chosen may be ‘ …to the praise of his glorious grace’. Living lives that glorify God is the main purpose why God has chosen those who believe in Jesus Christ. Thus, those who follow Christ have two awesome responsibilities as the Chosen People of God: to live their lives as acceptable to God and also to bring glory to God. God does not take delight in mediocrity and those who are watching our lives also does not appreciate mediocre lives.
Author: Dr. Paulson Pulikottil is professor of Old Testament and Head of the Department of Biblical Studies at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India
