Why did God choose you?

Sacred Scripture tells us that God loved the world and that Christ, God Incarnate, came to earth and died for our sins because of that great love. We, as Catholics, believe in the immense and unsurpassing love of Christ. But why? Why did the Lord choose you? Why has he given your life meaning and value? St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians why God chose us. He tells you why the Lord chooses you.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

We are to return blessings and honor to the Lord because He has poured forth his blessings upon us. Even when we believe and feel we are not blessed, the Lord says otherwise, and his promises are true. He chose us! He chose you! Before he even created the world, he had already chosen you to be holy.

We are familiar with the Jeremiah passage in Jeremiah 1:5 that says the Lord knew us before we were created in our mother’s womb. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” (Jeremiah 1:5) St. Paul goes even deeper and declares the Lord knew us before He created the entire world. He knew you! He sees you. It is in your life where God can be glorified the most. It is your life for which He desires to be honored, exalted, and glorified.

Let’s put this into perspective for a moment. What is the “foundation of the world?” The foundation is the core of any building. It is the lowest level which transmits or transfers weight from the structure to the ground. This distribution of weight allows the structure to be stable. The world rests on the shoulders of its creator. The world hinges its weight on God. The Lord has transferred the weight of the world onto His shoulders at Calvary because He has taken on the load of sin for us. God bears this burden in order to allow our life to glorify Him.

 Why? Because your life is for the praise of his graces and his goodness. Our adoption as children of God through faith is for the praise and glory of God. Even when we do not deserve it, God showers us with grace. Even when we are unworthy repentant sinners, God gives us blessings and forgiveness beyond measure. The blessings which we receive from Christ are not always materialistic. In fact, most of the time they are things we cannot see. The Lord is more concerned with our spiritual well-being than our physical. He provides for the physical, but he is relentless in us obtaining spiritual health and eternal life. Today, consider how your life can better praise and glorify the Lord.