HE CHOSE YOU ANYWAY
God has already watched your entire life in instant replay. He knew every shameful sin you would commit before He even created you. He knew every vile thought you would have before He chose you. There is nothing you have done that can make Him reverse or regret His decision. He already knew about it before He made His decision to love you. Your choices didn't take Him by surprise. To the contrary, they are actually a means to showcase His grace.
In Galatians 1:13 Paul says that in his former life he "persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it." He was complicit in the murder of many Christians. It doesn't get much worse than that. For instance, what is your impression of Isis when they put a bag over the head of a believer and chop it off on camera for the world to see? Paul calls himself "the chief of sinners."
But two verses later in Galatians 1:15-16 Paul says, "It pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles." First of all, that is yet another great verse on the sanctity of life in a mother's womb. But think about the order of things. God chose Paul before He committed these horrible acts. God chose Paul knowing full well he would commit these horrible acts. And these horrible acts didn't disqualify Paul from being called. He wasn't chosen because of His behavior, He was chosen because of God's grace.
Ephesians 1:4-6 says "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves."
How could God know everything about us in advance and choose us anyway? How could God choose us to be holy and blameless knowing beforehand every disgusting sin we would commit? The two don't make sense if you leave out the word grace. Your calling, inheritance, and forgiveness have nothing to do with you. It is all about "the praise of His glorious grace."
Knowing that, you don't have to doubt God's calling on your life to proclaim His truth. It is about Him. It doesn't matter what you did. It doesn't matter if you have had abortions or affairs or stolen money at work. It doesn't matter who you have lied to or lied about. It doesn't matter if you have been a total hypocrite. One second after you do something it is in the past and if you repent it is fully forgivable by the grace of God. God knew you would do it before He choose you. He choose you so that He could lavish His grace on you and use you to showcase that glorious grace. God does not love you or use you because you are a great person. God loves you and uses you because He is a great God
