Called before birth
The Lord declared to the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Even before Jeremiah was born, God purposed that he should be His anointed prophet. The Lord has a plan for every person on this earth. And He has assigned a place of duty and responsibility to all.
Humans have been redeemed with an immeasurable price. By pouring the whole riches of heaven into this world, by offering us in Christ all heaven, the Father has bought the will, the love, and the soul of every person (John 3:16). Whether saved or unsaved, all people are God’s property (Ezekiel 18:4).
Named before birth
The Lord declared to Israel, “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;
You are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). God sought to impress upon the nation of Israel that they were His children, called by His name, and ordained to be His special representatives and witnesses to all the world. “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me” (Isaiah 43:10 also 44:8).
Even when God’s people found themselves in the most difficult situations, they had the confirmation that He would be with them to help and to save. They were not promised freedom from trials, but comfort and final freedom. During different times, God’s people had passed “through fire and through water,” but the Lord saved them (Psalms 66:12; Isaiah 8:7, 8). “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalms 34:19; vs. 17, 18). In the Bible, water and fire often seen as purifying tools to refine God’s children (Numbers 8:7; Job 23:10; 2 Peter 3:5–7).
God’s plan for each person
The believers have been blessed that they may bless others (Ephesians 1:14). Our Lord ordained that the true purpose of life is ministry (Ephesians 2:10). Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His children He grants the law of service—service to God and to men (John 5:17). By living to serve others, man is brought into a unity with Christ. Thus, the law of service becomes the connecting relation which unites us to God and to our fellow men (1 Corinthians 3:9).
To His servants Christ commits “His goods.” He gives “to every man his work” (Mark 13:34). Each has his place in the heavenly plan. Each is to work in co-operation with Christ for the salvation of souls (3 John 1:8). Not more surely is the place prepared for the believers in the heavenly places than is the special place planned on earth where they are to work for the Lord.
And for the way in which they have done that, all will be required to give an account at the last Day of Judgement (2 Corinthians 5:10). Sadly, the claims of God are not accepted by all. While some accept His call of love, others openly reject it.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
