Understanding Election and the Grace of God

(A Modern Day Parable)

There was a guy named George who owned a hardware store in a small town for many years.  He was an honest man, a good boss, and a hard worker.  Everyone loved George.

One day, three of his employees had a devious idea. They decided to make a little extra money and pay off their debts by making false returns at the store.  Over the next 20 years, they made false returns for $25, and $75, and $100.  The amounts were small enough not to cause any suspicion, but big enough to take hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the store. 

Twenty years later, George decided to sell the store.  While preparing the books for the next owner, he hired an accounting firm to audit his books.  Through a routine process, the accounting firm found 3 credit cards with hundreds of thousands of dollars of returns.  They traced the numbers, discovered the card owners, and then shared those findings with George.

George was devastated.  He loved each man and considered them to be friends.  He couldn’t understand why they chose to do what they did. He paid them a salary that was much better than similar jobs in the area. If they were financially destitute, they could have come to him.  He knew that they had families to support, but justice had to be served. 

George brought each man in his office and revealed his findings.  He asked them how they intended to pay back the money, but no one had an answer.  The amount was more than any could repay.  After careful consideration, he fired each man.  The men were devastated and ashamed.

Several weeks later, George called one of the men back to the office. He said, “I know you’ve done wrong.  I know that you don’t deserve this, but I paid back the amount you stole. If you are willing to be honest with me—I’ll give you your job back.”  The man could not believe it.  He gladly accepted the offer and immediately went home to tell his wife the good news. 

Soon the news got back to the other two men. They were angry and went to see George.  “Why didn’t you do the same for us?  How could you give his job back and not ours?  He was just as guilty as we were.  It’s not fair.  If you made that offer to one person—you have to make that offer to all three of us.”

George listened to the other two men complain.  In a very calm way, he said, “Each of you stole from me.  Each man was fired.  If I chose to bring one man back to work—that is my right. It is my store.  It was my money. It was my decision.”

The two men became angrier with George.  They insisted that his actions were not fair, and they accused him of playing favorites.  The more they complained, the more they distanced themselves from the actions that caused their problem.

However, for the one man who was brought back to work—he was extremely grateful.  He knew that he did not do anything good to deserve the job; he was employed because George was gracious.  This understanding prompted him to become more loyal and more dependable than the other employees. He no longer worked to make money; he worked to serve the one who gave him so much.

While there is no human designed story that fully expresses God’s grace and election, this story may help.

In some ways, this is our story!  It’s the story of humanity in relation to God.  According to the Bible, we were created for relationship with God, and sin severed that relationship.  We knew right from wrong, and we chose to do wrong.  God did not treat us poorly or neglect our needs.  Rather, we wanted what we could not have and we were willing to steal to get it.

Even though God loved us and wanted the best for our future, justice had to be served.  The punishment of our sin was spiritual death.  Everyone received the same punishment.  Everyone was guilty of sin.  Everyone was separated from God.  If the story ended there, we could wallow in our perception of fairness while facing an eternity separated from God.

However, the story does not end there.  Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, He rose from the dead that we might have life, and He calls people into relationship with Himself.  He does not choose people based on how little they’ve sinned or how good they promise to be.  The Bible does not give percentages to indicate how many are of the elect and how many are not.  In fact, this entire process is shrouded in the mystery of God.

Here are a few things we do know.

• God is loving, just, merciful, gracious, and compassionate (1 John 4:8; 2 Thess. 1:6; Deut. 4:31; Exodus 34:6).
• Humanity was created for relationship with God (Genesis 1-3).
• Everyone sinned (Romans 3:23).
• The penalty of sin is death or spiritual separation from God (Genesis 3:23-24; Romans 6:23).
• God loves the world and Jesus died for the sins of the world (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
• Jesus told us to share the Gospel with the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
• God desires that all people are saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
• God calls people into salvation (John 6:44).
• God must quicken a dead spirit to extend eternal life (Eph. 2:1-10).
• God’s plan in election does not affect our mission to share the Gospel. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
• God anticipates that people will not understand His plan in election (Romans 9:10-24).

Does it all make perfect sense and fit nicely into our preconceived notions of God?  Not even close!  Can we learn to trust God with the details we don’t understand?  Absolutely!

However, before we get upset with God for electing some, put yourself in George’s shoes for a moment.  If you owned a store, and your money was stolen, and you chose to be gracious to one—how would you respond to a thief that demands to be rehired? Would you be okay with an employee telling you what you could or could not do with your own business?

In the same light, God owns everything.  He created everything. He has the right to do with His creation as He desires.  We may claim that God is not fair, but fairness as we know it went out in the Garden of Eden. If fairness were the determining criteria for humanity’s sin, some would not be elect—all would be damned. 

While this post will not resolve the tension that many feel, hopefully it will show how God’s plan in election and God’s grace can fit together.