Pre-destiny

I've been wrestling with the idea of predestination, election, and how free will can exist within these doctrines. So far in my research, it's been made relatively clear that predestination is indeed a Biblical idea, but to what extent?

According to Calvin, the doctrine of election/predestination essentially claims that God chooses who to offer grace to and who to offer justice to before the world was even created. In other words, before this whole mess of a universe was created, your ultimate salvation was decided according to "God's pleasure." God just randomly elects people to recieve His grace, while everyone else misses out, and therefore, are damned to hell. I'm picturing a gym class game of soccer in which everyone numbers off for teams. You have no say in which team you're on or who else is on your team. Calvin argues the case of Jacob and Esau, claiming that Jacob was offered grace when Esau wasn't because of God's will. It was nothing they did. So nothing we do can affect our salvation.

Does this make anyone extremely uncomfortable?

Granted, I'm glad my salvation isn't in my hands, but I feel like I should be able to choose to love God if I so desire. Some people believe that I still have the choice to decide God or not, but God affects my desire, which then guides my choice. So while I still have the choice, God programs my desire, and my ultimate salvation. My problem here is that if God affects my desire towards choosing His grace, he's affected my love for Him. Essentially, I am forced to love God, which isn't real. I force my pet dog to 'love' (or at least like) me, but that doesn't make it authentic love.

Again, I'm glad God is taking care of it, but it still sounds fishy.

So then some other people claim that God uses prescient predestination. So he looks into the future and sees which people will call on His name and which ones will curse it. The ones that he sees will love Him, he then predestines to salvation. This seems to make the most sense to me, because of a few Biblical passages. Despite Calvin's outright hatred towards prescient election, I feel that it best explains things.

John 3:16....Yeah, you all know it, but the first part is essential to this doctrine. "For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

God loves the world. Not just some elect few.

Why on earth would God just pass by somebody and let them die. Let them be eternally dammed? Why would he do that if He loves the entire world?

I have absolutely no idea where to stand on this doctrine (assuming I still have the option to choose), but the upside to all of this (if it's legit) is that predestination makes me love God even more. I have been chosen. I have been elected to recieve God's grace. I am one of God's chosen people. It's like being on the good soccer team in gym class.