U
unred typo
Guest
Since Mondar’s inspiring analogy had such stunning results, I have been compelled to give one of my own. I promise, no blind drivers. 8-)
The tour company has two busses. The yellow bus goes over the mountains to a stunning view unparalleled in the world. The red bus goes to the down to the market where jewelry, trinkets and souvenirs are sold, loudly at ’sale’ prices, in smelly, crowded booths. Both are listed in the brochures as ’must see’ locations for the tourist. The red bus is newly painted, air conditioned with roomy, reclining, thickly padded seats but the yellow bus is an old, uncomfortable, former school bus, dented and scratched from brush crowding the rough, narrow dirt roads carved through the woods, and the only air conditioning is at the summit, where the view takes your breath away and gives it back in ‘ahhhs’ and ‘wows’ and fresh mountain breezes. The road to the peak is so bad, it has not been unusual for tourists to have to hold onto the seats to keep from being bounced onto the bus floor. Both trips include a surprise lunch. The people in the big red bus are slated for the driver’s ‘fire and brimstone’ chili, :smt078 while the people in the yellow bus will be luxuriously dining with the king who lives at the summit overlooking his private island kingdom. :smt038
The king owns the tour company and long before the company existed he planned to make his island view open to the public. He planned to buy two busses and purposefully chose to use an old, rough one for the ride to his secret castle in the clouds. He also planned and purchased several jeeps that are stationed along each route to take people who have changed their mind a chance to take the other route. By so doing, he is assured that he will only be welcoming the kind of visitors he enjoys meeting and dining with. These will be people who can endure hardship, enjoy adventure and do not crave material bobbles, but really appreciate beautiful scenery. He has chosen the people in the yellow bus to have the most amazing experience of their lifetime, while those who refused to board the old bus and didn’t trust it would even make it, who were blinded by the flash of all that glitters, he has destined to the horrors of Manuel’s red hot hell-hole chili and the local grey water.
This choosing of the ‘yellow bus’ people to be the guests of the king is the way the Bible describes our election by God: Whosoever will may come. Those who by patient continuance in well doing will receive the reward. Jesus is the way but it is not promised to be an easy way. Just as the people are chosen by their decision to get in the yellow bus and their commitment to trust in it to carry them to the top, God chose those ‘in Christ’ would be the ones who have the eternal life and be heir to the promises of our travel brochure, the Bible.
You see by the very nature of the call to come to Christ, God limits those who will accept the call. It depends on your decisions and the kind of person you have made of yourself, and what you have chosen to value in your life. Do you put earthly riches ahead of people, even your own family and friends? Do you value your comfort more than helping others? Do you choose to lie when it’s easier than to tell the truth? Do you always look to see what material gain or personal acclaim you are going to get out of any situation or are your eyes focused on the heavenly view promised in his word? If you have made all the wrong choices, it is not too late to change the course and head in the right direction.
So what does this analogy teach us? We are chosen in the beginning by God’s choosing to save those who individually chose to be in Christ, and we are not individually chosen for salvation or damnation. The question you should ask is; “Is this what the Bible means when it says, we were chosen in him from the foundation of the world?†I know that’s a lot of ‘chosen’s but you need to see there is a distinction to be made here. Calvinism’s claims have muddied the water and made the whole issue to be confusing. Declarations that we are saved entirely by workless grace have tempted some to sit back and enjoy the ride instead of taking the high road. Choosing to be ‘in Christ’ is not an easy ride but the destination is worth it all. God has ordained that those 'in Christ' will not be disappointed. Are you in the yellow bus or in the red one? Are you ‘in Christ’ or ‘in the world, the flesh and the devil’?
The tour company has two busses. The yellow bus goes over the mountains to a stunning view unparalleled in the world. The red bus goes to the down to the market where jewelry, trinkets and souvenirs are sold, loudly at ’sale’ prices, in smelly, crowded booths. Both are listed in the brochures as ’must see’ locations for the tourist. The red bus is newly painted, air conditioned with roomy, reclining, thickly padded seats but the yellow bus is an old, uncomfortable, former school bus, dented and scratched from brush crowding the rough, narrow dirt roads carved through the woods, and the only air conditioning is at the summit, where the view takes your breath away and gives it back in ‘ahhhs’ and ‘wows’ and fresh mountain breezes. The road to the peak is so bad, it has not been unusual for tourists to have to hold onto the seats to keep from being bounced onto the bus floor. Both trips include a surprise lunch. The people in the big red bus are slated for the driver’s ‘fire and brimstone’ chili, :smt078 while the people in the yellow bus will be luxuriously dining with the king who lives at the summit overlooking his private island kingdom. :smt038
The king owns the tour company and long before the company existed he planned to make his island view open to the public. He planned to buy two busses and purposefully chose to use an old, rough one for the ride to his secret castle in the clouds. He also planned and purchased several jeeps that are stationed along each route to take people who have changed their mind a chance to take the other route. By so doing, he is assured that he will only be welcoming the kind of visitors he enjoys meeting and dining with. These will be people who can endure hardship, enjoy adventure and do not crave material bobbles, but really appreciate beautiful scenery. He has chosen the people in the yellow bus to have the most amazing experience of their lifetime, while those who refused to board the old bus and didn’t trust it would even make it, who were blinded by the flash of all that glitters, he has destined to the horrors of Manuel’s red hot hell-hole chili and the local grey water.
This choosing of the ‘yellow bus’ people to be the guests of the king is the way the Bible describes our election by God: Whosoever will may come. Those who by patient continuance in well doing will receive the reward. Jesus is the way but it is not promised to be an easy way. Just as the people are chosen by their decision to get in the yellow bus and their commitment to trust in it to carry them to the top, God chose those ‘in Christ’ would be the ones who have the eternal life and be heir to the promises of our travel brochure, the Bible.
You see by the very nature of the call to come to Christ, God limits those who will accept the call. It depends on your decisions and the kind of person you have made of yourself, and what you have chosen to value in your life. Do you put earthly riches ahead of people, even your own family and friends? Do you value your comfort more than helping others? Do you choose to lie when it’s easier than to tell the truth? Do you always look to see what material gain or personal acclaim you are going to get out of any situation or are your eyes focused on the heavenly view promised in his word? If you have made all the wrong choices, it is not too late to change the course and head in the right direction.
So what does this analogy teach us? We are chosen in the beginning by God’s choosing to save those who individually chose to be in Christ, and we are not individually chosen for salvation or damnation. The question you should ask is; “Is this what the Bible means when it says, we were chosen in him from the foundation of the world?†I know that’s a lot of ‘chosen’s but you need to see there is a distinction to be made here. Calvinism’s claims have muddied the water and made the whole issue to be confusing. Declarations that we are saved entirely by workless grace have tempted some to sit back and enjoy the ride instead of taking the high road. Choosing to be ‘in Christ’ is not an easy ride but the destination is worth it all. God has ordained that those 'in Christ' will not be disappointed. Are you in the yellow bus or in the red one? Are you ‘in Christ’ or ‘in the world, the flesh and the devil’?