Romans 11:1-2a; 29-32 (NRSV)
Read Romans 11:1-2a; 29-32 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Verse 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Verse 29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Verse 30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, Verse 31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. Verse 32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Devotion
We are all only too human. Being in ministry, of course, does not mean that we are perfect people. We all have things in our lives that we wish we could change. When we are among those that we grew up with, we may face a little teasing about how we behaved in our youth and then amazingly were called to be leaders of the Church. It never ceases to amaze me how God, in God's wisdom, calls and claims His people. We, as Christians, come in our brokenness from lives of disobedience to serve with willing hearts because of the mercy that we have experienced in Christ. As we all know, we daily continue to make mistakes, causing harm to others. But God, in God's perfect plan, uses our imperfection and sin to draw us all to him as we are reminded that God's calling is irrevocable, for Jew and Gentile alike.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank and praise you for giving us new life, washing away our sin and calling us into your kingdom with the promise of eternal life. Amen.