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
As Paul writes to the Christians at Romans, he shares his pain in wrestling with the mystery of why his Jewish brothers and sisters have not, for the most part, embraced Jesus as the Messiah. But he rejects the idea that God has rejected or abandoned them. Paul is proud of his Jewish heritage, even while he claims the richness of the mercy of God in Jesus. God will never reject God’s people. That’s the bottom line. But the other bottom line is this: mercy. Jews and Gentiles may be different in many ways, but they are alike in one important way: God is merciful to all God’s children. There is not one of us who does not need God’s mercy. No matter where we come from, no matter how old we are, no matter which church we go to, we are all in need of the mercy of God. And God pours mercy out on us.
Prayer
Compassionate God, let us be grateful for the gifts and the calling you have extended to us, and for the mercy you have poured out on us. In your name. Amen.