So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
Rom 9:16
This verse knocks man off of his high horse and exalts God to the place of preeminence that He deserves! There is a simple fact declared in numerous scriptures concerning those that know the Lord. We didn’t choose Him; He chose us! (Jn 15:16) We didn’t finally reach Him as an act of our will. We weren’t running hard toward Him. No, we know God because He decided to show us mercy! Just listen to how an earlier passage sums up all of mankind:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.” (Rom 3:10-11)
Have you ever considered the experiences that God compares to salvation? God says salvation is like a sheep being found (Mt 18:12-14), like a baby being born (Jn 3:3-6), and like the dead being raised (Eph 2:1-9). What do you find in common with each of these situations? In the first example, the sheep is not seeking the Shepherd; the Shepherd seeks him. What about the example of a birth? Does the baby have anything to do with his conception? Perhaps, the clearest example is that of a dead man being raised. What can a dead man do? Nothing! As one preacher said, all a dead man can do is stink! God has to give a dead man life.
As the Romans 3 passage tells us, we don’t seek after God. We’re born running the other way! If you’re redeemed today, there’s only one Person that deserves the praise for your salvation. We didn’t seek the Lord. He sought us! May we give glory to the God “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”. (2 Tim 1:9)
Jamie