Rather than go into a discussion about tulips and a bunch of “isms”, I said, “We are in the present. We know what is going on all around us right at this moment.” Then I picked up a ruler that was on the desk in front of me and said, “This ruler represents my life. If I hold it up to my nose and look down it, let’s pretend that is my past. I can look all the way down that ruler and can see all of the events in my past. But since the future is in the other direction, I can’t see it at all. I cannot turn my head or turn this ruler in any way that will allow me to see into my future.”

Then I grabbed the ruler in the middle and held it out at arm’s length to my side so that I was looking at its entire length from the side.
“Now pretend that I am God. God created all things, including time itself. God is outside of time. So He can see my entire life—the ruler—from beginning to the end because He sees it differently than we do. Remember, he can stand back and see the entire ruler all at once because He is viewing it from outside of time. He can see all of my past AND all of my future. He already knows everything I will ever do, every decision I will ever make, and whether I will ultimately accept or reject His gift of salvation.”

So in that sense, I am elected or not elected because God can already see the choice that I will make in my life. He already knows my decision. So does that mean that it was pre-determined and that I “never had a chance” to be saved? Absolutely not. I had as much chance as anyone and it was my decision alone whether or not I accepted Jesus or not. This is why there is no discrepancy between John 6:44 and 2 Peter 3:9. While it is true that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,” at the same time, God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”