I found this article as I was preparing for my teaching on the doctrines of salvation, and particularly on election.  The quote below is very insightful

Thesis 23: We must affirm that God creates what he elects rather than that he selects out of what exists.

Israel is called into existence. Election is tied to promise and the seed of Israel is not the product of selection but of creation. God created what he elected. Election is the creation of something out of its opposite—possibility out of impossibility. It is a matter of creation rather than a parallel to rejection.

The focus in our doctrine of election, therefore, must not be on selection. Election is a creative act. In biblical thought Israel, Christ, and the Church are not “existing realities that God selectively chooses out of a number of extant Israels, Christs, or churches. . . . They are created by the dynamics of election, for they are what they are only by virtue of their election.”

via Scriptural Election: The Third Way.

The thought that election is out of God’s creative, life-giving power is an excellent one, and a great demonstration of why I cherish the doctrine.  In election, He is calling the dead to life, not sifting based on some selection criteria.  This helped me to articulate a good defense to those who see election as mechanical and deterministic, and ultimately cold and unfair.