Hi Kat,
I don't think I am as confused as you think I am
at least I hope not...
First of all, I don't even know if I am one of the elect! I mean, I have had these truths revealed to me, but don't know if I can humble and purge myself enough to be able to enter the Kingdom of God. Now the way I wrote that sentence it looks like there is free will in there, but when I say "I can humble" and I can "purge" I really mean - is it God will's for me? Or is it not. I don't think anyone knows for sure if they are part of the elect.
We need not worry or try to think of a way to best approach them with the truth.
Here is how I see it. I 100% agree with you that God's elect are predetermined. Either my family will be called or they won't be called. I know I can't change that. God is 100% sovereign. I completely understand that. We cannot affect his will.
However, I don't know the future. Will my parents be called or not? I don't know - only God knows. Therefore I must try. How do I know that I won't be the instrument that reveals the truth to my parents? That could be God's plan to bring my parents into the elect. If I worry and plan about how to approach them, then it must have been God's will that I worry and plan how to approach them. Because we can only do God's will. Just like when Pharoah hardened his heart, it was God's will that Pharoah harden his heart.
Here are the possible outcomes:
1. I show the truth to my parents, discuss with them, show them Ray's papers etc. The light bulb goes on for them. Yay! It was God's will and my parents were predestined to know thow the truth!
2. I show the truth to my parents, discuss, etc. The light bulb doesn't go on. Oh well, I guess it wasn't predestined for them, but I was still predestined to reveal the truth to them. Yay! Its all part of God's will!
3. I don't reveal the truth to my parents for some reason (maybe I chicken out, maybe we don't get a chance to discuss it for whatever reason). So my parents never here the truth. Guess they weren't predestined to know the truth, and I wasn't predestined to talk to them about it. Yay! Its all part of God's will!
4. I don't reveal the truth etc. But somehow my parents have the truth revealed to them. Again I wasn't predestined to reveal the truth to them, but they were predestined to learn it! Yay again! It's God's will.
The tricky part is I don't know which outcome will happen, only God knows. However the common thing is, no matter which outcome actually happens, it must have been God's will, because that is the outcome that happened.
So I might as well try to reveal the truth to them. If it doesn't happen, it wasn't meant to be (it wasn't God's will).
I hope this makes sense to you. And its why I still believe its valid to share the truth with others. Its not that I'm trying to change God's sovereign plan. That is impossible. But you, me, Ray (obviously), and everyone is a part of God's plan. If you don't feel the need to worry about sharing these truths, then it must have been God's will for you not to feel the need to worry about sharing these truths. Everything we do is part of God's plan, right?
Cheers,
Kevin