According as he hath chosen us in him 
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy 
and without blame before him in love. 
Ephesians 1:4

From time to time, someone says, “My parents didn’t plan me. I was an accident no one expected.” People use this as an excuse for not accepting more responsibility in life, claiming that they are accidents who came into the world by mistake and aren’t even supposed to be here!

Well, I want to tell you that even though we may have been a surprise to our parents, we were not a surprise to God! The Bible teaches that long before you or I were ever conceived in our mothers’ wombs, God already knew us and was calling us to be His children with a special purpose to fulfill in this world.

In Psalm 139:15 and 16, David declares that God’s eyes were fixed on us not only when we were in the earliest stages of being formed in our mother’s womb, but even before we were conceived. David said concerning himself (and us), “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fash ioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

According to David, God knew us when we were nothing more than mere “substance” in the earliest stages of being formed in our mothers’ wombs. God was so intricately aware of us that He took note as our arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, and toes were being formed. In fact, this verse says He even knew us “…when as yet there was none of them” in existence! Think of it! Long before we were conceived, God already knew of us - and by faith He could see us being conceived, formed, and born into this world. This means there isn’t a single human being on the earth who was a sur prise to God, and that includes you!

Those of us who are believers were also saved by no accident. Paul writes, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.…” The word “chosen” in Greek is eklego - a compound of the words ek and lego. The word ek means out, and the word lego means I say. Together these words literally mean Out, I say! It can also mean to call out, to select, to elect, or to personally choose.

In classical Greek writings, this word eklego referred to a person or a group of people who wereselected for a specific purpose. For example, the word eklego was used for the selection of men for mil itary service. It was also used to denote soldiers who were chosen out of the entire military to go on a special mission or to do a special task. Finally, it was used for politicians who wereelected by the gen eral public to hold a public position or to execute a special job on behalf of the community.