Message: Romans 9 is a really difficult
chapter. Paul was grieving for the Jews because they had rejected God. It seemed
so wrong to him because they were the physical ancestors of Jacob and they
carried the promise of the Messiah. The Messiah had been born out of their own blood
line and yet they rejected him and missed out on the most important part of the
promise. Paul even went as far to say that he almost wished he could trade
places with them because that was how strongly he grieved for them. He went on
to question our ability to judge what is truly just and fair. Abraham had two
sons but only one of them carried the promise. The one who carried the promise had
twin sons and God chose the younger brother over the older before they were
even born. This again seemed unfair, but generations later the ones who carried
the promise were missing out because they rejected the Messiah, while the
unchosen ones (the gentiles) were the ones enjoying the promise because they
received it. This was no surprise to God because he knew this is what would
happen. Paul quoted old testament scripture where God said “I am putting a
stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes
on him will not be put to shame.” Jesus was that rock that tripped the Jews
and provided a foundation for the gentiles. Paul reminded them (and us) that we
are in no position to judge what is fair because only God is perfect and he has
the freedom to bless whomever he chooses. He doesn’t owe any of us anything. What
appeared to be a disadvantage to the underdog proved to be an advantage in the
long run. What appeared to be a privilege and a leg up also proved to be the
disadvantage in the long run.
Command: Don’t try to judge what is fair or
right. We don’t have the mind or the understanding of God.
Promise: God is fair and just.
Warning:
Application: As I read this I thought of so many
situations where it seemed like someone had an unfair advantage, but because it
was given to them without any kind of proven or earned character it was taken
for granted and wasted. Someone else who seemed to be at the disadvantage found
an opportunity and worked hard because they had no expectation that anything
should ever be handed to them. We’ve often heard the term “silver spooner”
describing someone who was born into wealth and handed unearned wealth/and or
opportunities provided by wealth. While there are a lot of wealthy people who
have taught their children to work hard and develop character, we also see many
who were handed wealth they did not build and it ruined their lives. We also
have seen many who appeared to grow up at a disadvantage, but they developed
character and/or tenacity because of their disadvantage and became successful
because of it. I’m not trying to compare salvation to wealth, but since money
is measurable it was an easy comparison. Some people are born with physical
disabilities and they accomplish things that most able-bodied people are too
lazy to even try. We all believe that having supportive parents gives kids the
confidence to succeed, but I have known kids who grew up in challenging
situations that were far from supportive but they developed character and a tenacity
that gave them a different edge of experience because they allowed their
circumstances to motivate them instead of becoming a victim. Each of these
scenarios has the potential to go in either direction and in some families you
literally see kids who grew up in the same home take completely opposite directions
in life. This is true of all kinds of other success/failure stories. I don’t want
to make this political, but we live in a country that is trying to push in the
direction of socialism because the perception is that if everyone has the same
opportunities it makes things fair. I’m definitely not about oppressing anyone
but as we have evaluated in just these few scenarios, there is no way for any human
to determine what an equal opportunity looks like. We don’t have the mind of
God to recognize all of the contributing factors. We all have different
advantages and disadvantages and we could never possibly create an equal
playing ground. Only God understands how these checks and balances work for and
against us and his judgment is perfect. This challenges me to evaluate some of
the things in my life that I have perceived as unfair or as a disadvantage. This
also really challenges me to pay attention to the things that I have that
should be working as an advantage for me, but I have taken for granted. Opportunities
I have wasted because I didn’t recognize them for what they were.
