FEW ARE CHOSEN!
Compare these two statements:
1. All or none.
2. Many or few.
Both are qualitative statements. The first one gives no hint of numerical amounts. "All" can be one or a thousand. "None", of course, means zero. There is no in-between degree. The reader has no idea of how many or much is involved when reading "All or none."
Now consider the second statement. "Many or few." It gives the reader a more vivid picture of the comparison involved. There is a definite contrast between "many" and "few." The reader may not know exactly how many "many" is, but gets the idea that many were involved and so were just a few.
It is the second statement that Jesus used when He declared the status of people on earth down through the ages. "Many are called," He said, "but few are chosen." He meant that while He calls every person born to follow Him, which is "all," only a few respond to and seek after Him until they find Him.
What a fearsome indictment against humanity at large. John said Jesus is the Light that lights every person who comes into the world. Jesus created us in the image of God so that we can communicate with the Godhead in a wonderful relationship. What a gift! What a privilege.
Yet, from His declaration we learn that only a few persons pursue becoming acquainted with God and finding the salvation that He provided for sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus, His dear, beloved Son.
In another place Jesus said:
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.""
Later, He gave this chilling statistic quoted above:
"For many are called (invited), but few are chosen."
Jesus lights every person who is born into this world, and invites each one to know Him. This fundamental call is termed conscience, a knowledge of right and wrong. God also has a marvelous universe at all levels of detail surrounding every person on the planet. All speak of the Creator of all things. God tries to draw every individual to Himself. They are the "many" in contrast to how many actually take Him up on the offer--the "few." "Many" is not equal to "all," but pretty nearly so. "Few" is a small number in contrast to how broad the invitation to eternal life really is.
When Jesus met at night with Nicodemus, He told Nick that he needed to be born again to go to heaven. Farther down in the same chapter three of John, He also gives the reason most people who are called do not opt to go to heaven.
"And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God."
Plain and simple, people love sin more than they're willing to love and obey Jesus. Little do they know what they are missing out on by not knowing Him...and little do they know how awful are the consequences of unforgiven, unconfessed sin that Jesus would forgive and cleanse if they would repent before Him. Eternal suffering in hell and then the lake of fire face them!
When the "many" find themselves in hell they will realize what a huge mistake they made, but it will be too late. Once in hell, there's no going back to do life over again and make a better decision. While it is the day, we who know and love Jesus must try to persudade people to turn to Christ for forgiveness. That is our commission. That is our responsibility. That is our call!