The Fshbwl

The Reading of the Week: Matthew 11:25-30.

For centuries, one of the greatest struggles in the Church has been the doctrine of election and the ultimate question, "Why some and not others?" At one extreme, you have those who argue for an across the board predestination and the fatalist attitude that comes with it. On the far opposite side, you have those who demand complete free will and leave God on the sidelines in the role of a counselor, consultant, or cheerleader who wants what's best, but is incapable of bringing it about. The question is, "Where on the continuum does the Bible invite us to settle in?"

Given Jesus' language of hiding, revealing, and choosing in Matthew 11:25-30, it's impossible for us not to explore what it has to say about election. While these few verses might not provide a complete answer, they do offer something to the conversation. So, here are a couple thoughts.

First, election is something that is positive. This shows up in two places in Matthew 11:25-30. The first is obvious, as, following the discussion of hiding and the revealing, Jesus says that it is God's gracious will. Given that grace is something given that isn't deserved, we can assume that the focus of this statement is the revealing to the little children, and, in the language of the coming verses, giving them an easier yoke to bear.

The second positive reference to election is a grammatical one and is based on the verb form of the Greek word translated, "chooses". Basically, it's in the middle voice, which carries a nuance of something that is done for personal benefit. In this case, it says that the Son chooses to reveal the Father for his own pleasure, or, in other terms, because he loves to forgive.

A second thing we can see is that Jesus' call isn't limited to a select few, rather, he calls "all who labor and are heavy laden." Given that this was a reference to those who were under the yoke of God's Law as expressed in the Torah, that would be a call to everybody. Yet, the wise and intelligent remain deaf to the call because they insist on trusting in their own ability to carry the yoke of the Torah.

Holding both of these realities in tension, we can come to the conclusion that, if you have faith, all the glory goes to God, but if you don't, you only have yourself to blame.