ANOTHER PART OF yesterday’s verse reads: “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). This verse says that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” Are we predestined to be His? Is that destiny written into our bodies, minds, and spirits—and our relationships? Yes. I believe by the very constitution of my being that I am predestined to be a Christian. All my organs, my blood, my nerves, my tissues, my brain—everything within me—work well when they work in His way, and they work badly when they work in some other way. I am predestined by my makeup to be His, but I can live against that destiny. If I do, I get hurt—inevitably. His way is my way, and when I do not take His way I’m beside myself, less than myself, against myself. I cannot revolt against Him without revolting against myself.
A commanding officer at an air base said, “If the men on this base would adopt what you said this morning in the chapel, there would be no problems. The problems on the air base are in these persons. If they would be Christians, the problems would drop away.” The problems of life arise out of our not being Christians, for the moment you are not a Christian, you are a problem to yourself and others. Haydon Edwards said to an officer commanding the United States Army in Korea, “What is the function of the armed forces as you see it?” His reply was, “Our function is to hold things together, if we can, until you people can take over. I am not sure we can, but that’s our function.” No one but the Christians can hold things together. Everything is made in its inner structure to work in the Christian way. When it does, it works well; when it works some other way, it works its own ruin. We are predestined to be Christian; that destiny is written in us, and hence inescapable.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, I’m grateful that I’m destined to be Thine. That is the highest destiny I can conceive of. I put my shoulders back when I think of it. I, a child of the dust, destined to be like Thee! Glory! Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: My destiny is the highest conceivable. I shall not lower it, nor diminish it—I shall fulfill it.
