¹¹ Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. ¹² Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

¹³ I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, ¹⁴ for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. ¹⁵ For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! ¹⁶ And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

Never Gives Up

I suggested yesterday that God allows us to choose to accept or reject his love. If we want nothing to do with him, he’ll accept that. Sort of.

You see, even if we tell God to leave us alone, he will never give up on us. He may allow us to go through the darkness of not knowing his presence for a season, but he will never stop declaring his love to us. All of creation declares his grace, his love.

I’ve had people come to me and ask if there’s still hope for them. They will share about how they rejected God and told him to leave them alone. They renounced his existence. In some cases, they even hated God. And now, they fear that he will not forgive them. They fear that there is no longer any hope.

Often, I see tears flow when I explain that God never gave up. That it is never too late. He pursues us. He waits for us. He loves us. I tell them the story of the Prodigal Son and how the father would stand and watch into the distance, wishing his lost son would come home. How the father saw the son will still off in the distance and went running to him. God pursues us that way. He waits for the smallest of openings in our heart, and he runs to us, arms open wide.

In a few days we will celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. It’s a time when many decide to start fresh. Perhaps, it’s a good time to open your heart again. He is waiting.

My prayer: Lord, thank you that you have never given up on me. On days when I feel like I have failed you beyond words, you still love me. On days when I choose my way over yours, you wait patiently. You allow me to live life my way if it’s what I want, but you still receive me back into your arms when I come, broken and bruised. Thank you for never giving up. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

⁵ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. ⁶ And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

⁷ So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

⁹ Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. ¹⁰ Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”

Hard Hearts

At Bikers’ Church, I often teach people the importance of context. Whenever we read any Scripture, we need to always keep in mind the overall context of the passage, the book, and the entire Bible. Simply put, the Bible doesn’t contradict itself.

When you read this passage, you might think that these poor Israelites didn’t have a chance. After all, God hardened their hearts. Only a few remained faithful to the notion of Grace.

But I think that what this passage is really saying is that God simply said, “Ok.” He allowed them to the choice that they had already made. He didn’t push grace on them. If they chose to reject grace, God will let them. As we’ll see tomorrow, he will never give up home for them (or us), but God will allow them to choose their own path.

That idea always amazes me. God, creator of all things, loves me so much that he wont force me to love him in return. He wants the best for me, but will allow me to chose grace or reject it. And if I tell him I want nothing to do with him, his heart will be grieved, but he will honor our request. Sort of. (But that is for tomorrow’s passage).

My prayer: Thank you for loving me the way you do. It’s undeserved. The idea that I can choose to accept your love or reject it is incredible to me. The idea that sometimes I do reject it, is horrifying. I pray that I never take it for granted. Amen.

Until tomorrow.

¹ I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.² No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

⁴ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”

Others

I wish we had time to tell the story of Elijah. It’s an incredible story. He stands up to false prophets and God faithfully demonstrates his power. He fears for his life and flees into the wilderness because of the threat of a woman. He cries out for God to kill him because of how miserably he is. And he learns that while he thought he was alone, there were actually 7,000 others standing up just like him. (You can read Elijah’s story here.)

Have you ever felt like you were totally alone? Like you were facing a battle without anyone else supporting you. It’s true that Elijah did stand alone in his battle with the Prophets of Baal. But he wasn’t alone. And it wasn’t just God who was standing with him. Again, there were 7,000 others. Why didn’t they reveal themselves directly to Elijah? We don’t know. But I have no doubt that God instructed them to stay in the background. Perhaps God wanted Elijah’s faith to shine as he stood alone.

The point I making is this: you’re not alone. And it’s not just God who stands with you. There are others. Sometimes we don’t see them. Sometimes we take for granted that they are there. Sometimes there is a reason they are not revealed at the time you think they should be. But they are there.

I often here people share their story of coming into relationship with God. Many times, they discover after that someone was praying for them. A family member, a friend, maybe even a stranger. People were there, supporting them, even though they thought they were alone.

A friend of mine was doing missionary work in Russia. One night, my daughter felt prompted to pray for him. I sent him a note the next day to let him know that we had prayed for him and hoped all was well. He replied later that day and told me how the night before he was having trouble at a border crossing. It looked like he was going to be arrested. And then, suddenly, he was released. We figured out the time zone changes and realized that at the very moment he was released, my daughter was praying for him. He was not alone.

In the midst of your trials and struggles. Don’t ever buy into the idea that you’re alone. Yes, God is with you. But there are others as well. You may not see them. You may not realize they are there. But they are.

My prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you have not called us to do this journey alone. In fact, it is your plan that we are not only in relationship with you, but with each other. We are called to live this journey together. Even when I feel alone, help me to not give in to those feelings. They are a lie. I am never alone. Thank you for that truth. Amen.

Until tomorrow.