God's Electing Love
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of dry bones." - Ezekiel 37:1
If, in the valley of dry bones which Ezekiel saw, some bones only had come together while others remained as they were lying, what would have made the difference? Would it have been that some bones chose to rise and others to lie still, and that God waited till He saw what bones chose to rise before He made up His mind regarding them? Or would it not have been wholly of God? So it is with regard to dead souls. They do not choose to rise, nor does God wait till He sees some inclination to move amongst some of them before He fixes His plans. No, they rise because God chose them from all eternity. They did not raise themselves, nor did they even desire to rise of themselves.
Take away God's decree, and you take away a sinner's only hope of being saved. Had there been no electing love, there could have been no salvation. And nothing can be more foolish than the idea that God's decree interferes with man's liberty. The only point at which it does interfere is in saving souls. Those that are lost, are lost because they enjoy their miserable liberty - that is, to remain in the bondage of sin. It is God's electing love that takes off the fetters with which the sinner is bound, that He may draw them to Himself with the bands of love. Election draws some to God - but keeps none away. It is a help, not a hinderance.
-Horatius Bonar