The Most Planets?

 

 

That’ll show you to snub Pluto! I mean, seriously, what did he ever do to you? He just floated through space all frozen and alone holding on to the only high light of his existence, being a planet. Then you just go and brush him off like you really have some kind of say in it anyway.

Now someone else is the big man on campus. No longer do we have the most planets. Now we find out we should have been counting every one we had. Well serves them right, I say.

Seriously though, another system has been found with more planets than we currently acknowledge, yet the study clearly finds none that are able to sustain life.

Why? Because we are chosen.

We are one tiny little spec in the grand scheme of things, and constantly reminded of that by the constant discoveries of even larger things.Yet we have been chosen, because only earth holds sentient life.

Again we ask, why? The answer is not as satisfying as the question I’ll warn you, and yet it is far greater.

God made it that way.

Oh, I know it sounds like a cop out, we ignore science and discovery for a religious catechism.  Well let me assure you that is not the case in this instance. I don’t find articles about the universe by accident. I am fascinated by space and God’s creation, but with every discovery one constant fact is presented to me over and over; with such a vast creation testifying to God’s awesome wonder, how much must He love us to make us the only ones?

People will keep looking, I sure hope they do, but as more discoveries are made we keep finding a bigger testimony to God with less and less indication of extraterrestrial life. Which leaves us only to realize that God made all of this because He has chosen us to love.

Peter knew some about being chosen.

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

   To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

   Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

- 1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV

Peter wrote to God’s elect, His chosen. Sometimes Christians get bent out of shape over this idea. We tend to call it predestination or free will. We get so bent out of shape that the world can see us fighting over “being robots” or “God not knowing what will happen”. Of course neither is the case, they are simple straw men set up at extremes to make the other argument look stronger.

While I have no intentions of tackling the issue at large (I have done so in other formats and have no desire to do so again) I do wish to look at what Peter IS saying here.

Peter calls us God’s chosen people, strangers to this world, who were chosen because God knows everything that will happen, who have been chosen through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for a specific purpose.

There are a few things to focus on here. God has chosen us. I wish I could write an impression of how massive this very concept is. The God who can hold the universe in the palm of His hand and created it at a word, has chosen us. Wow.

We are strangers in this world. So fully chosen are we that He has moved us into His zip code. We no longer belong in this world because we are His. Our home is with Him.

This choosing is in line with what God knew would happen. God isn't surprised that we chose Him, in fact He died for everyone and offers every one His grace, He knows who will take up that offer.

For those of us who chose God, we in turn have been chosen to go through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Now, lest we get it in our heads that this means God chose us to go to heaven and chose others to go to hell, let us look a little closer. Sanctification is a fancy way of referring to the continual process of being made holy. We are redeemed and then we start the sanctification process. We are not chosen through redemption. We are not chosen because God chose to redeem us (as opposed to not choosing others) we are chosen for a purpose because of God working in us to make us Holy.

What is that purpose? Obedience to Christ and the testimony of His blood. We are chosen, like God knew we would be and planed for, through being made Holy, for obedience to Christ and the sprinkling around of His blood. Else where it says to be salt and light. I think the idea is the same. Obviously we are not being made holy before we are forgiven and place is made in us for the Spirit to do His work. So what could sprinkling the blood mean?

Well, did the priests sprinkle the blood of the offerings to forgive the sins? No, the forgiveness came in the shedding of the blood. Once that blood was shed it was sprinkled around for the atoning of all. Do we sprinkle the grace of God in our lives around us? Does God’s forgiveness for sins splash out of our lives and coat those around us in crimson?

This is why we are chosen. We are chosen to become like Christ and share His forgiveness with the world. It is pretty awesome to be chosen, it is very intimidating to be chosen for a job. It is easy just to be chosen to be, but being chosen for a God sized task can be overwhelming. When you have been elected by God you have few options remaining. If you didn’t want the work, you shouldn’t have signed up for the job.

But if you live in harmony with your choosing? The promise is even more grace and an abundant peace.

So be a light…