Did you know that God’s gift of salvation for us started even before he created the world? Incredible!

This basic truth can really stretch our minds, and it shows us that God’s thinking is far beyond ours. Even when we think of all that God did to create our world—from the universe, to our galaxy, to our planet, to all the plant and animal life around us, and to us humans— we are filled with awe and wonder. But then, to think that God chose us one by one to be saved in Christ even before he made all of this—it goes beyond our ability to understand.

So there is great mystery here. But this doesn’t mean we are left confused or without understanding. As our Creator, God knows our minds, and God knows we can understand what it means to be chosen, and loved, and called to be holy. So he tells us those things in his Word to us—and much more. And even though we can’t understand all that God does, or why, we can be sure that he loves us and wants what is best for us. Far back in eternity God made plans to adopt us into his family so that we can have full life forever instead of dying in our sin and misery.

This month, as we reflect on the Canons of Dort, we’ll be thinking a lot about our sin and God’s gift of salvation for us. So it’s important to know that before all of that happened, God chose us in love to be his children.