Mother’s Day is a very special day and when considering our earthly mothers, this hymn came to mind. No person who has ever been born had the privilege of selecting their parents with the sole exception of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the rest of us, we did not have our choice of a father or a mother. Human birth is not an evolutionary happenstance, but a miracle from God and children are an heritage from Him.

So too, it is when we are born into the family of God as true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God alone who did the choosing and did so out of His sovereign grace and mercy apart from anything He saw in us. He did NOT select us according to our good works or even because He saw that we would like Him enough to “make a decision for Christ.”

The hymn for this Lord’s Day encouragement was written by Josiah Conder in 1836. It is entitled, “‘Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee”. The son of an engraver and bookseller, Josiah wrote the lyrics to at least 59 hymns.

“Tis not that I did choose thee,
For, Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse thee,
Hadst thou not chosen me.
Thou from the sin that stained me
Hast cleansed and set me free;
Of old thou hast ordained me,
That I should live to thee.

‘Twas sovereign mercy called me
And taught my op’ning mind;
The world had else enthralled me,
To heavenly glories blind.
My heart owns none before thee,
For thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love thee,
Thou must have loved me first.”

I would also like to say that I am thankful for my own mother on this Mother’s Day. In England, we celebrate Mothering Sunday normally in March of every year. While Mothering Sunday has become today what Mother’s Day in the USA is for us, you can click on the link for the original history of the British holiday.

I am thankful for her love and care for me down through the years and am proud to call her my mother! I love you, mom, and a Happy Mother’s Day!

In conclusion, I am also thankful for my wife and the mother of our children. She is a very gracious God-send and a blessed helpmeet to me in every aspect of my life and that of my children. I love you, sweetheart!

Thankful for His Choosing,
The Desert Pastor

Your response: