grounding election

I had a conversation with a friend last night that ended with a discussion on God's electing some unto salvation and some unto damnation. It is a difficult topic, especially if you have close friends or family who are not yet saved. It is heart-wrenching to think of them never knowing Christ.

Years ago I was very cool and collected about the idea of election. I loved it unabashedly. I spoke of it freely, with passion and many times with absolutely no forethought. I'm sure there have been many who were adversely affected by my ranting.

You see, although I knew it to be true and good, the secondary election of reprobates never really weighed on my mind. Whenever folks would talk about how they disliked my insistence on the doctrine of predestination I would write them off as too sentimental and not enough into Biblical truth.

Over the years though, I started to feel the ache of seeing those whom I love as brothers refuse the faith. It was something I couldn't put a handle on and I quickly wrote it off as an emotional response against the glorious truth of Scripture. But it kept coming back, stronger than before.

It is this ache, this anguish, that I will be discussing for the next few posts. It is a good thing. It grounds election and keeps Christians humble. It exposes our hearts for the lost and it helps us see Christ more clearly. And it makes election more glorious, not less.

I probably wouldn't have written these posts if I hadn't had that discussion last night. After the phone call I realized just how much damage can be done by insisting on election without grounding it in heartache.

-joe
(My friend, by the way, wasn't calling me up to yell at me about my insistence on election. I just realized through the conversation that I had probably hurt many and that some of you may have, as well.)