While listening to Mark Driscoll on my Ipod this evening I was deeply moved by how he related predestination to a story about his daughter being almost hit by a car. The story went something like this, apologies to Mr. Driscoll in advance if don’t get it exactly right.

Marks daughter was about two years old and they lived by a very busy street and while they where outside getting into their car his daughter bolted in the direction of the busy street but was quickly caught by her mother and father who loving warned their young daughter that the street was full of fast moving cars and very dangerous. They told her that if she ran into the street again should would be hit by a car and die. Sometime later when Mark was outside with his young daughter she looked him square in the eyes and then turned and ran directly for the street! Mark pleaded with her to stop, but she just ran faster. What Marks daughter didn’t see and what Mark could see because of his adult scope of vision was that a large truck was barreling down the street at 45mph. At any moment the young child would be killed unless Mark intervened on her will and stopped her in her tracks. And he did! Just in time Mark pulled his daughter from the path of the truck with his strong arms. Mark didn’t ask if he could rescue her first and then wait for a positive response. He rescued her in spite of her rebellion!

I know that stories like this are imperfect when trying to describe things as great as the love of God, but bare with me just of moment. For anyone that has children this question will hit home the hardest. If you had a child who was in open rebellion and you knew for certain that if they persisted on their current path they would be killed. To what lengths would you go to stop them? Would you be willing, if it where in your power to change their desires so that they would, instead of running away from you, leading certain death, turn and run to you and thereby be saved? Would you give them a new heart so that they could obey and be saved, if it where in your power?

This is what God has done to you if you are a Christian. Jesus died to fulfill the new covenant with his blood so that we would have new hearts given us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus pursued us in our rebellion and grabbed us from the clutches of the destruction that we so greatly wanted. Some might call this a violation of our free will, I call it Mercy, I call it Grace, I call it The Sovereign Love of God.

Follow this link to hear Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Predestination. Probably one of the most powerful I have ever heard.