Just some thoughts.

Predestination–we want to know whether we are "called" but more importantly, whether ourselves and our loved ones have been “chosen” or “saved”. What it comes down to is us coming to a point where we ask ourselves: Do we have enough faith to make it to heaven? Am I saved, is my family saved, are my loved ones saved? I am afraid of the possibility they might not be, so I want to know so that I can save all of us or try to. Now, let me try to explain how I would go about trying to answer these questions:

Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44
Verses like this implant fear sometimes. But, I do not think we should dwell on this verse without reading more of the Bible and knowing Jesus...

Lets look at Mark 5:

The first story is about Jesus and the tomb dweller: A very, sad and broken man lives in a cemetery because he does not know how to fix himself. He is running from society and hates himself for his brokenness and pain, even to the point of self-destruction. He cuts himself and cries out and cannot control himself. No one person could contain him, not even with chains. This man was possessed by a “legion of demons,” in other words, he was evil in the world's eyes and they just wanted to contain him. The man runs to Jesus and cries out in fear of knowledge of His Holiness, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” (Mark 5:7)
This man was possessed by demons and his whole life is in pieces, but even in the midst of suffering and a dark, dark life…the spirit within him, acknowledges Jesus as the “Son of the Most High God.” That was all it took for Jesus to rebuke the demons and send them out of the man and into pigs. All it took was for the man to call Jesus and to BELIEVE He is the Son of the Most High God here to save you.

The second story is about a woman who has hemorrhages, uncontrollable bleeding, and she could not be cured by any physicians. Still she had heard of this Jesus.
"For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:28-30)
This woman was superstitious about Jesus. It was like she had found a lucky penny and she knew if she just put it in her pocket everything would be well again. She touched Jesus full of Hope.
But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Mark 5:33-34
Although her faith was not even what most of us "Christians" would imagine “faith” to be, Jesus simply needed one tiny little glimpse of her reaching out for Him to “make her well.”

The last part of Chapter 5 is Jesus raising a little girl from the dead...the little girl did nothing. First Jesus tells the Father "Do not fear, only BELIEVE." (5:36) She was lying on the bed and Jesus came to her calling her "Talitha cumi (little girl), I say to you arise." (5:41) And she got up and began walking. Jesus rose a girl up from the grave.

This chapter in the Bible is only one of many, many more that reminds me of the Grace and Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Whether we go to him like the tomb-dweller, lost and broken and wanting to take our own lives, or like the woman who simply hoped He could fix her problem, or like the little girl who did nothing to call Jesus to herself, Jesus asks but for the littlest hint of FAITH. I believe Jesus has given us free-will. He has supplied each and every person with an equal opportunity to know Him (this looks different for every person).

I think a "call" is something applied by the Spirit to the individual's heart and life and results in a turning away from idolatry and sin and a lifelong turning to God in Christ and through believing, allegiance.

Like Adam and Eve after the Fall, once we get to the place we see our sin and we know our brokenness, we can begin to comprehend what Jesus offers us. I picture them sitting in the Garden of Eden after God has come and given them a lecture about how hard life will be now and they ask themselves "Well, now what?" I think often times, I look at my life and I ask the same thing. I get to a season where I feel like I am failing and nothing is going right, I know my sin and I feel so small and distant from God, I start doubting and questioning everything, then all I can do is sit before the Mighty cross and say "Well, what now do I do?"

Remember when you were a child and your Dad or Mom would put you in time out? I remember time out vividly, I would have to sit in a corner by myself for a solid 5 minutes (that felt like an hour) and do nothing but think about what I did. I remember specifically calling my Mom "stupid" and I had to sit in time out. Although I would not dare show her how bad I felt about calling her a name, I felt my heart hurt and when I thought about what I said, there was something telling me I was wrong and I needed to apologize in order to play again.

I feel like that so often. I am convicted of my sin and what a broken, hurting person I am, and I sometimes get afraid but in order to go "play" again I must face my mistakes and my failures and I must ask for forgiveness. It is not until we face the struggle and let it filter through all our thoughts and moral guidance before we can walk away prepared and ready to face the joy and life and love again!
Victory is not the absence of struggle. Freedom is the presence of struggle with the clarity of mind to know and see struggle differently and the ability in that moment, through the power of Jesus Christ, to choose what is true and right and holy; to choose Christ in the middle of your crisis. Christ gives everyone and anyone equal opportunity to find Him, we humans just have to realize our brokenness and reach out.

All and all, we have to remember God is God, and He will accomplish the salvation of His Creation in ways unimaginable by mortal man. Who are we to say you are saved, or you are not?

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:25

The honest answer, I do not know; no human knows the right answer to this big question. But, as I get to know God more and more, I can promise you from the deepest part of my heart, God loves us. God cares about us. God wants to give us (EVERY ONE OF US) life, to the point that He willingly, freely gave His One and Only Son so that we might have Life. We need only believe.

"Do not let your heart be troubled. BELIEVE in God. BELIEVE also in Me." John 14:1

I know we often wonder about ourselves and our friends. I constantly wonder, but at the end of the day isnt it more important to put all our energy into being present and just loving people as best we know how, rather than spend our time trying to figure out if they are saved or how you can get them there? Just by being who you are and embracing who you were created to be is more than enough for God to use you. Your obedience to who you are in Christ, unconsciously gives permission to others around you to do the same. Its almost like your confidence and authenticity in who you are frees others of their own fears and insecurities. Being around you makes people feel safe to be real, the same Truth that lives in you resonates with the Truth in others whether they know it about themselves or not. I read somewhere the other day, "If God was small enough for you to understand him, he would not be big enough for you to completely trust him."

In the words of my good friend Bradley, "Deep calls to Deep." I dont care who you are or how different you are, we all have the same breath and the same heart beat...Jesus resides within all of creation. Dont forget that.