Website of Dr. John K. LaShell
The
Attractiveness of Christ
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The Beauty of God for a Broken
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ordering information) Other Authors
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“Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined
us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
intention of His will” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Predestination is one of the
hardest doctrines for many to accept. They think God must be unfair to choose
some while He bypasses others. They wonder how God can choose people without
taking away their free will and turning them into puppets. I begin with the
following parable.
Fred has decided that he wants a
wife. He is a gentle, yet strong man with a steady job, so he has a lot to
offer a prospective bride. In his circle of acquaintances, there are ten
suitable young ladies. Through common friends, Fred makes it known that he is
interested in pursuing a deeper relationship, with a view to possible marriage.
Although the young ladies can see that he has many good qualities, they all
reject his suit. One doesn’t like his hair; another thinks he is too
smart; a third is looking for a good dancer, which he is not.
After all ten have turned him
down, Fred selects one of them, Wilma, and focuses his attention on her. He
pursues her with steady persistence and gradually overcomes her initial
reluctance. Wilma begins to see him in a new light. She appreciates his
kindness, his thoughtfulness, his integrity, and his good sense of humor. In
short, she falls in love with him. She finds him irresistibly attractive, so
when he asks for her hand in marriage, she gladly says, “Yes.”
Similarly God has revealed His
power, glory, wisdom, and kindness in creation (Psalm 19:1; Psalm 104:24; Acts
14:17). He has revealed His righteousness in the consciences of mankind (Romans
1:32; 2:14-16). And to some, He has given preachers of the gospel who extol the
beauty of Christ’s death and resurrection for sinners. Nevertheless, in
spite of the fact that God has displayed many of His good qualities for all the
world to see, the whole human race has refused the Lord’s gracious
invitation to a deeper relationship.
Though many claim to be seeking
God, in fact no one does so. “There is
none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who
seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there
is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).
What does God do in view of
mankind’s universal rejection of Him? He reveals more of His glory to the
hearts of chosen sinners. He pursues them as Fred pursued Wilma until by the
secret work of the Spirit in their hearts they see the purity of God’s
holiness, the justice of His judgment, and the wonder of His grace in the cross
of Christ. When God thus shines His beautiful light into their hearts, they
find Him irresistibly attractive. He speaks to their hearts saying,
“Come, my beloved,” and they gladly answer, “Yes.”
God is not unfair because when
people reject Him, He is under no obligation to reveal more of Himself to them.
God does not turn people into puppets because He does not force people to
believe against their wills. He makes them willing by showing them His
irresistible attractiveness.