On Thursday 7 May this year there is the UK election to choose those who will sit in Parliament in Westminster. This will be the first time this event has happened since the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 which set a General Election for the first Thursday in May every five years. These 650 elected public servants will serve a population of about 60 million men, women and children. They will be responsible for the National Health System, the economy, taxation, schools, the armed forces, foreign affairs, the Police, the Judiciary and more. This will no doubt lead to a long working week under much scrutiny from their colleagues and the media for the previously mentioned period of five years.

But the real question is 'who is God's elect'? In the Old Testament Israel the family of Jacob was described as His elect (Isa.45.4). Also the angels are described as being 'elect' (1 Tim.5.21). In the Greek it comes from the word 'eklektos' which also means chosen and by implication favourite. Just such an election was shown when Rebecca had twins in her womb, when Jacob was chosen over Esau and she was informed the first to come out of her womb would serve the one born minutes later.

The Church during this Christian era, whether Jew or Gentile, has come about by election of God and it has always been a part of his plan to prepare an elect (1 Thess.1.4.1 Pet.1.2). These are ones who receive the Holy Spirit by the grace of God, feel His love in their hearts and bring forth of the fruits of the Spirit. These ones are clothed with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patient endurance with a forgiving nature. Forgiveness is an important feature in the New Testament. It features in the Lord's prayer. Elsewhere our Lord Jesus tells us to forgive our brother seven times seventy and reminds us the Lord also forgave us (Col.3 12-13). Peter picks up on this theme as well as he says having been purged from our sins and therefore we want to develop Christian qualities.

But there is only one way of doing so and this is by abiding in the vine or in other words always connected to our heavenly Father and His son, till the time should come when the government shall be upon his shoulder (Isa.9.6-7) and kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev.11.15) in a day when the result of a UK General Election will be of no consequence.