Local author grapples with the dilemma of being chosen by God

The Dilemma of Being Chosen is classified as a spiritual/religious book and explores the idea of chosenness.

“Because choosing is an act of self-limitation, it implies bias. If I chose between two objects and chose one ahead of the other, it implies I have biased the one over the other,” Van Rensburg said.

“In the same sense when God chooses us for whatever purpose – which is not limited to ministry – it means that our being chosen creates a bias-predicate.

“But, being chosen does not automatically mean we will want to do or fulfil our choosing and it is from this perspective that I argue that we are set on a collision course with ourselves as the paradox develops.

“It is from this premise that I discuss the triangular interworking of being chosen, being favoured and being purposed for a particular task by God.”

Van Rensburg, a Beyers Park resident, was born in and grew up in the Eastern Cape, but has been living on the East Rand with his family for over two decades.

He has been in corporate banking his entire professional career and holds qualifications in banking and economics.

Van Rensburg’s hobbies include watching and following sports, but he added that nothing beats a day or weekend away with his wife and son.

He has always had a passion for writing and said that “it is just getting more intense”.

The desire to want to produce something that has as a value proposition that includes hope, wisdom and spiritual intelligence in a world where we are all challenged and often perplexed with making sense out of life, inspired and motivated Van Rensburg to embark on the writing of The Dilemma of Being Chosen.

“Those questions we all run into that often want to inhibit and debilitate our progress, such as ‘If I am favoured, why is my world falling apart?’, ‘If I am favoured, why does it feel as if my life is going in circles?’ and ‘If I am favoured, why don’t I prosper?” he said.

Van Rensburg’s own life’s journey contributed a lot to producing this book.
However, he added that it is safe to say it is a concoction of an often difficult life journey, coupled with sound biblical theology.

Even though this is not the first book he has written, Van Rensburg admitted that writing this particular book was “extremely frustrating as (he) binned a couple of manuscripts only to restart again”.

He had a previous attempt with a book titled Highly Favoured, but being the perfectionist that Van Rensburg is, he withdrew it as it was not good enough in his view.

Another challenge he faced during the writing of The Dilemma of Being Chosen, was finding the time to write.

“This was the most challenging, as a career in corporate banking is very demanding on one’s time,” Van Rensburg said.

Van Rensburg’s ambition for his writing career is to take it one book at a time.

“For me, the value proposition of my work is more important than the book – as a product – itself,” he said.

He is currently working on his next piece, Principles of the Battlefield, which should get released towards the second quarter of 2017.

You can get your hands on a fresh copy of The Dilemma of Being Chosen through the following channels:
• Amazon – www.amazon.com
• AuthorHouse – www.authorhouse.com
• Van Rensburg’s website – www.mariusvanrensburg.com
• Send an SMS or WhatsApp message to 082 930 1632, requesting a copy.

Quick facts about Van Rensburg:

• He reads books across various genres, but anything apologetic draws his attention.
• Three authors who inspire him are William A. Demski, Josh McDowell and Philip Yancey.
• His favourite book is The End of Christianity by William A. Demski. “His strong theological arguments and scientific mind is just fascinating,” Van Rensburg said.
• He is reading “nothing serious” at the moment. The month of November he will devote to his two car magazines, CAR and TopCar, and the Auto Dealer in the Boksburg Advertiser. “Who said those weren’t serious reads?” he said.