On the one hand, it is impossible to believe in Jesus unless God the Father draws us (John 6:44). On the other hand, Jesus makes it very clear over and over again that we are to believe in him. The nineteenth-century evangelist D. L. Moody gave an old illustration that is still helpful. When you are saved, it’s as if you walk through the gates of heaven with a sign over it saying, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” You walk through the gates and when you look back, you see on the other side of the archway the words, “Before the creation of the world I knew you.”

Explore Bible notes, 1/3/2018