Why did God choose me?

Answer

In John 15:16, Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” Ephesians 1:4 states, “He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” First Peter 2:9 declares, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” It is evident that God has selected those who believe in Jesus. But why? Is there something exceptional about me that led God to choose me? The simple answer is, no, God did not choose us because of anything inherent in ourselves. He chose us out of His love and mercy, and for His glory.

Ephesians 1 continues, “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship 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” (verses 5–6). We see that God’s selection of us is connected to His love. God’s choice is something that brings Him pleasure and earns Him praise. God’s selection of us emphasizes His gracious character, not our merit. As we understand from Ephesians 2:8–9, we are not saved because of our good works but solely because of God’s grace. We are all sinners who fall short of God’s glory «for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; », (Romans 3:23). Without Jesus, all deserve death «For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.», (Romans 6:23). But in Jesus, we can have life. It is not because of who we are thatGod chooses us because of who He is. As 1 Peter 2:9 indicates, the appropriate response to being chosen by God is to declare God’s praise and give Him worship.

God also selected us so that we could participate in His work in the world. Ephesians 2:10 states that God has prepared good works in advance for us to accomplish. Jesus mentioned His followers producing lasting fruit. Ephesians 1:4 connects election to being holy and blameless in God’s sight. God chose us because He has a purpose for our lives.

The Old Testament emphasizes Israel as God’s chosen people «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. », (Deuteronomy 7:6). In Deuteronomy 7:7–9, Moses explains to the children of Israel why God chose them: “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” Once again, we see that God’s choice is not based on the merit of a particular person or nation, but solely on His love and faithfulness.

Just as God chose Israel out of love and not because of something impressive about the nation, God chooses us out of love. As 1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” Why did God choose me? Because of His great love, His lavish love.

The doctrine of predestination is challenging to comprehend. We naturally tend to think that those who are predestined

Are chosen because of some merit of their own. After all, that is how we tend to choose. We remember picking teams for P.E.—everyone chooses the tallest, fastest, most athletic, most popular, etc., to be on their team. But God is not like that. His criterion for choosing is not based on us. “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world . . . God chose what is weak in the world . . . God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not . . . so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:26-30;ESV).

Why did God choose me? He chose you to demonstrate His character. He chose you that you may know Him and love Him. He chose you because He is love «He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. », (1 John 4:8), He is gracious, He is merciful, and He has a glorious plan for you.