The Good Shepherd
"Jesus has prayed for nothing less than absolute oneness with him. Some of us are far from this state of oneness, but we can be sure that, because Jesus has prayed that it may be so, God won’t leave us alone until it is." Chamber's quote summarizes why I'm so confident that the Lord will see all the Elect through. Jesus cannot and will not fail in His purpose-not one time. To do so would make Him imperfect and not divine. The Lord has made the Elect's salvation an issue of His divine nature. The statement "God won't leave us alone until [His purpose] is completed”. This is not just doctrinally correct, I've found it true experientially. As a pastor now for over 25 years, I've witnessed so many Elect test out the John 17:21 prayer by attempting to walk away, to go back to the life they had before Christ. They can make the decision to walk away but they can never actually get away from Christ. Make-believers can walk away, can fall away, but by definition, the Elect are those who demonstrate the perseverance of the saints to turn back (repent). The reason they turn back is because Christ brings them back.
The good Shepherd is relentless. He will move heaven and earth to save one of His lost sheep. I have watched the Lord create the most amazing circumstances to compel one of His prodigals to return Home. The prodigal Elect (and there are plenty) always come to their senses and say "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you," (Luke 15:17-18). We will have the privilege to watch the Lord do miracles to bring His prodigals home in this season of sifting and shaking. Our faith is not in them, or ourselves, but in Christ alone. May we walk by faith and not by sight as we trust the Lord to finish the work He has begun in our loved ones.
The good Shepherd is relentless. He will move heaven and earth to save one of His lost sheep. I have watched the Lord create the most amazing circumstances to compel one of His prodigals to return Home. The prodigal Elect (and there are plenty) always come to their senses and say "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you," (Luke 15:17-18). We will have the privilege to watch the Lord do miracles to bring His prodigals home in this season of sifting and shaking. Our faith is not in them, or ourselves, but in Christ alone. May we walk by faith and not by sight as we trust the Lord to finish the work He has begun in our loved ones.