All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. – John 6:37,39
Events shape our lives. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to thank God for all that has happened. We are here, and God used the events of our past to get us here. This week, let us thank Him.
Sometimes, we are tempted to boast about ourselves. But be careful: you might not even be consciously aware of some of the most life-shaping events. For instance, you probably can’t recollect anything about your birth. You might know what time you were born, how much you weighed, or whether your mother’s labor was difficult, but these facts are not direct memories. You know because someone else told you, not because of something you did or even remember.
Truth be told, you had very little to do with your birth. Even if your family reminds you frequently what a strong-willed child you were (still are?), your will had nothing to do with your conception, birth, or development as an infant. Truth be told, your life was a free gift to you, and this gift of life was irresistible – you couldn’t do anything to receive the gift or to prevent it.
Steel rods are dense and difficult to bend. In high school shop class, I learned first-hand that making them red-hot allowed me to shape them how I wanted by striking with a ball-peen hammer on an anvil. I still have and use the chisel that I crafted this way in tenth grade. While the hardness of the steel seemed resistant to my efforts, placing the rod in burning coals made it irresistible to the strikes of my hammer. Ultimately, the piece of metal could not resist my effort to give it the gift of usability – giving cold, boring steel a new life in the form of a chisel.
Reformed Theology has a term for this: “Irresistible Grace” – when God chooses to give a gift, no matter how stubborn like steel we are, we cannot prevent receiving this gift. It’s an imperfect analogy, but think about how a wayward child cannot stop his mother from loving him. A loving grandparent continues to pray about and forbear a grandchild’s foolishness.
Since Halloween marked the 506th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, I have been sharing each week about one of the five Doctrines of Grace of Reformed Theology. The Bible teaches us that while we are born thoroughly contaminated by sin (Total Depravity), God chose those whom He would redeem by no action on their part (Unconditional Election) and sent His Son to save the elect (Limited Atonement), and no matter how sinful and stubborn they are, He regenerates their hearts so that they will respond to His effectual calling (Irresistible Grace). I plan to describe the fifth point next week (Perseverance of the Saints). The first letter of each of these terms forms a memorable acronym: T.U.L.I.P, also known as the Five Points of Calvinism.
Reformed Theology is not just academic. It is practical because it gives hope. God’s grace is the good news of the Gospel. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) and gave us the gift of eternal life. Though rebellious, with transformed hearts, we can’t resist His love. Like Lydia in ancient Philippi, the hearts of the elect are opened by God to receive His gift: “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14).
Has your heart been opened? As the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “You cannot look to Christ before He has looked to you. If you are willing to be saved, He gave you that will.” God transforms His people into usable chisels. This Sunday, worship the One who conforms you into His Son’s likeness. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Express your thanksgiving! “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Psalm 3:8).
