Catholic Q&A
We hear the phrase “Choice of God.” Is salvation available only to those whom God has chosen? Is there no salvation for those who are not chosen?
To say there is no salvation for those who are not chosen is wrong. We should not forget that here the word “choice” is uttered from the existential experience of the believer. To comprehend it in a universal or fatalistic way, would be a terrible misunderstanding. Whoever senses within his faith that God has guided his unworthy self in a special way, uses the word “choice” to describe this gratuitous love. In that sense, we can say that each one of us has been chosen by God.
I guess you know the parable in the Gospel concerning the shepherd. For the sake of a single lost sheep, the shepherd leaves 99 sheep behind in the field and goes off in search of the lost one. (Luke 15: 4-7). A person who sees this as something irritating, has secretly counted himself among the 99, but the person who feels that he or she is the lost sheep, rejoices at having been specially loved and chosen by God. Please realize that you yourself have been chosen by God. I hope the fact of your having been chosen evokes feelings of joy and gratitude within you.