Monday 8 December 2025
Immaculate Conception
Genesis 3:9-15, 20. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous deeds – Ps 97(98):1-4. Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12. Luke 1:26-38.
The assurance of God
The author of Ephesians probably didn’t realise that with this passage they were setting off two millennia of arguments that would fracture the church down the middle. We don’t even know for certain who wrote it. But what we do know is that these verses about predestination have created endless debates. Were we really chosen ‘before the creation of the world’? If so, what does that mean for human freedom, free will, or the dignity of choice? For some, the idea is profoundly reassuring – that nothing is outside God’s providence. For others, it’s troubling, raising questions about fairness and destiny. And the truth is, these arguments will probably rage forever without resolution. But maybe that’s to miss the force of the passage itself. The focus here seems to be not on exclusion but assurance. To be ‘adopted’ is to be wanted, loved and held by grace. Our task, then, is not speculation but living lives that reflect that grace.
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