I'm still struggling with the whole predestination issue. I never believed that growing up, thinking that although God knew ahead of time who would choose him - because he knows everything - we all had free will to choose or reject.
In fact, I have always stayed away from Reformed churches because they believed that only certain people have been selected by God and were predestined to accept Jesus as their savior. The church I attend now also has pointed out several Scriptures that seem to point to the fact that Jesus has called certain people, and that those who reject him actually can't believe.
That brings up a lot of questions I don't have the answers to - why would God only call certain people? What's the point in sending out missionaries if God has only predestined certain people?
Whether it's predestination or not, I like the way my pastor put it on Sunday. He said God being our father is like a father calling his kids playing in a gymnasium full of other youngsters. When he calls out, only his children will answer him, because they recognize his voice. The others will go on playing and doing their own thing.
This could be taken as predestination, that only some people recognize God's voice. Or I guess it could also be taken as those who have already accepted Jesus hear his voice and obey - at least we should. Those who don't yet recognize God as their father will continue doing their own thing. However, when we Christians hear God calling we are supposed to immediately drop the ball we're playing with and go running. It doesn't always happen - sometimes we ask for five more minutes or act like we don't hear the call, but we should always answer.
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