Chapter Four of my Erwin story. Let me know what you think!

Pastor Davies rose from his high-backed chair. Brushing asside some of the shades, he silently watched Erwin and Marcus clamber into the Toyota. Wordlessly, he re-played the interview in his mind.

Erwin's arguments had been clear, coherent, and concise. Since God is faithful, He is also just. Since He is just, not all agree with His justice, just as not all humans agree with human retribution. Since some disagree, not all can be saved. Since not all can be saved, God welcomes the elect. Point by point, he had built his case soley on the undeniable facts of God's character.

The challanged pastor ran his fingers through his greying hair, and his eye caught two books Erwin had left with him. The first was The Gospel for Real Life, by Jerry Bridges. The second, written by C.J. Mahaney, Christ Our Mediator. Pastor Davies scanned his mental list of books, and did not recall reading either, nor hearing of their authors.

Having nothing better to do, he opened The Gospel for Real Life. Christ Our Mediator, the undeniably shorter of the two, would be an easier read, but Pastor Davies didn't care. But just as he flipped to the first chapter, his cell phone rang. His wife was calling him, so he took the call. By the time he had finished talking, he had decided to put off the reading of the books for a more convenient time. He decided that he had better spend some time in the word and in meditation.
This month, Pastor Davies had purposed to study the Pauline epistles, and as Providence would have it, he was this week studying the letter to the Ephesians.

He began to read, slowly at first, and then excitedly, and with great aggitation. He read the first paragraph silently, then aloud to himself, as if hearing the words might help him.

" 'Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.' "

Here he paused, then went back and read the words over again, this time commentating on them in a low tone.

"Paul was an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. That is what Erwin meant when he was talking about sovereignty. Everything that happens is because of the will of God!" He said it feelingly, as if he had never considered it before. He continued on in the passage.

" 'For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. . .' God chose me through Christ's redemption, even before the world was created. I am to be holy and blameless in His sight, too! He predestined me, even adopted me, as His son in accordance with his pleasure and will!! His pleasure! It is in me!"

No longer could Pastor Davies sit still. He ran out of his office and ran into the parking lot. He ran down the road as fast as he could go, his arms out stretched. "Thank you, Lord! Thank you for opening my eyes!" He ran until he stumbled over a crack in the pavement. He looked around. He had been running with his head thrown back, and he now saw that he was at least a mile from his church. Energetically, he quickly retraced his steps. He had a lot of reading to do. There was so much to be done. Two red spots appeared on his cheeks, and he threw himself into study with the strength of a beast. He was flushed and evidently excited. Every now and then, he would look up from a book and mutter mullingly, "I feel like a new person."

--To be continued.

What was Marcus's conversation like with Erwin as they drove homewards? What will Pastor Davies's congregation say about what he discovered in Ephesians? All this and more, coming in the next few chapters.