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In Matthew 22:14 Jesus tells us that many are called and few are chosen. If people know anything about Jesus, it is that he was an accomplished narrator. The parables of Jesus have the remarkable ability to compromise our imagination and challenge our assumptions. Jesus did not teach in parables to provide a general affirmation of the way we understand God, ourselves and other people. He taught in parables to invite us to reexamine some of our most cherished convictions on matters of eternal importance. For this reason, Jesus' parables often disturbed the Pharisees rather than reassuring them.
Perhaps you have heard about salvation in terms of being called by Christ or being chosen through his grace. Perhaps you have spoken about salvation in this way yourself.
The words "called" and "chosen" are common not only in the Scriptures, but also in our discussions about God, faith and salvation.
This idea of being called and chosen by God is not only common in Presbyterian or Calvinist circles, but it impregnates Christian conversations through denominational lines because this is a concept that is certainly found in the Scriptures, although Christians tend to interpret it in different ways.
However, the purpose of this blog is not to debate biblical support for predestination, but rather to explore the fundamental meaning of what the Bible refers to when it speaks of being "called" or "chosen."