- So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Romans 9:18 – Is what we are reading here what we think it’s saying? Is Paul saying that God chooses to show mercy to some people and to some He chooses not to? Yes, but let’s work through that. Remember mercy is the concept of “not getting what we deserve.” We all deserve death and eternal separation from God, that is the just and fair consequence due to our wrongs. Yet God has chosen to demonstrate His mercy to some by opening their heart to the pathway of His life, and others He has allowed to remain in their hardened state of rejection of Him. How can God do that? How can He be so unjust to choose some for mercy and others not? I found this story as I studied this passage…“A woman once said to Mr. Spurgeon, ‘I cannot understand why God should say that He hated Esau.’ ‘That,’ Spurgeon replied, ‘is not my difficulty, madam. My trouble is to understand how God could love Jacob.’” When we get to the spot where we believe man deserves and has earned God’s mercy, that when we have missed the mark. The fact that God even allows any to have His offer of life is remarkable. Yet how does God “choose” who gets this and who doesn’t? Friends, that’s something we can never know, but what it doesn’t do is give us an out on sharing the Gospel. Since we have no clue what God’s will is for each person, we must choose to follow God’s command of sharing His Gospel with each person. What the Spirit does in each person’s life after that is up to the Lord and isn’t our place to question. If though you have received Christ, know that means He has chosen you to show His mercy to and that’s a wonderfully beautiful thing. Be now the one that God uses to show His mercy to another. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3432
- What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. Romans 9:14-15 – We must understand it’s God’s choice who gets a chance at His love and grace. At first that sounds unfair, but try to understand what this is saying. As with the readers of this letter, it’s wasn’t just the Jews that got a chance at God’s salvation but now also the Gentiles. God got to say who had the chance, not men. With us today, those who you may not think should have the choice of salvation get it still because God chooses who can choose Him, not you. God gets the final call on who gets the chance at life with Him and who doesn’t. While some will stay the course that their hard hearts are leading them down, God’s grace is for all who are willing to accept it. Who is someone that God is offering His salvation to that maybe you wouldn’t have been so quick to offer it to? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1057
- So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:16 -In our chapter, Paul’s heart is heavy for the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. We see Paul share how in God’s showing of mercy to those He does is not something unfair or unjust. God’s mercy isn’t given only to those of a certain family tree or those who have followed a certain set of traditions. God isn’t obligated in anyway to grant His mercy, love, salvation, or life to anyone. Yet what we see in our story is such things being offered to all people. God’s mercy is given to us freely by His choice alone. Let’s be so grateful that our God doesn’t treat us as we deserve nor bases our life with Him on our works. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2418
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