The irrevocable gifts and calling of God is Paul’s
conclusion to the “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” for “his kindred
according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2) Even though Paul, like the Christ he
professes, have both been rejected by those who are imprisoned in disobedience Paul
none-the-less proclaims that in the end God will be merciful to all. It is a
daring statement that we diminish when we qualify it based on our limited
knowledge. The point is the cross confirms the covenant and despite the
unfaithfulness of God’s people who “honor me with their lips” but whose “hearts
are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13) the promise from God’s lips and the love of
God’s heart is one in the same. If Paul believes God’s mercy extends to
descendants of Abraham who do not confess Christ we might even dare to hope
God’s mercy extends to those for whom we have great sorrow and unceasing
anguish trusting that in the end mercy trumps judgment.
No comments:
Post a Comment