Predestined?

I'm back to reading Ephesians and am now thinking about chapter 1. Chapter 4 was about what we should be doing for God but the beginning of the letter is more about what God has done for us. Some of chapter 1 deals with issues that cause some debate - predestination for one thing.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 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." v3-6

I have to confess that I'm not too good at remembering my blessings and tend to take all the good things God has given me for granted. Rereading this it says spiritual blessings rather than physical blessings, but I know I should be thanking God each day for every blessing of all types, its so easy to dwell on the things that don't seem so good in my life.

I like the thought that I was chosen before the creation of the world, its great to think that God knew all about me even then, it reminds me of Psalm 139, a favourite of mine.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." v13-16

When I think about how amazing that is I should be praising God for his blessings all the time, he made me just the way I am. When I am moaning about something in me or my life that I wish was different I'm really suggesting that he got it wrong, but sometimes its hard to accept that I am who I am because that is just the person God needed for his plan, no one else could take my place, he has a role just for me. That's pretty awesome!

I know that some people struggle with the concept of being "predestined" as its seems to clash with the idea of God giving us free will, but the way I see it is that God is not bound by time, we are because we are living in this universe which has to obey certain rules, but God is beyond all that. He has seen our past, our present and our future so he knows the decisions we will make and the way we will go, also he knows us so well he knows what we can and cannot do and he works all these to his purpose. I'm sure I haven't got the concept completely, but it works in my head! Please feel free to correct me or give your views if I've got a bit wrong! Predestined is mentioned again in verse 11.

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." v11-12

I think that goes with what I was thinking before he "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will". I think that the message puts it beautifully, avoiding the word predestined!

"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. 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." v3-6

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." v11-12