Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Reading these verses took me right back to the years of growing up with my sister, and when we would get in trouble with my parents. As the youngest and self-proclaimed favorite child, I was always quick to tattle on my sister for any transgression she committed. Then, when she got in trouble, I would laugh and taunt her, feeling really good about myself because surely my parents favored me the most. Of course, the tables would soon turn every time.

As I got older, I realized my parents didn’t love either of us more or less when one of us got in trouble, they were just doing their job as parents. Sometimes they didn’t even punish us when they should have. That was great when I was the one who deserved punishment, but I didn’t like it as much when my sister had done wrong. Even in our disobedience, my parents showed mercy equally.

Read verses 30-32 again.

This is referring to the disobedience of the Jews and the Gentiles and how, in His mercy, God was always waiting to offer salvation to all people. This whole chapter is about how, as the chosen people, salvation was offered first to the Jews. Many of them became hardened because of their sin and did not receive salvation. Then, as the Gospel was shared with the Gentiles and they were offered salvation, they began to see themselves as superior to the Jews because there were Jews who had been rejected due to their disobedience.

Paul warns the Gentiles not to be conceited because of this. And in these verses, he explains that both Jews and Gentiles have received God’s mercy as a result of their disobedience. The Gentiles are not special because they have now received salvation too.

While it is hard to comprehend, this mindset still exists today in various ways in Christians. Some Christians feel their church is elite or looks down on even other believers who don’t wear 3-piece suits and fancy dresses to church. We may feel superior when we have a better church attendance record than others or when we compare ourselves to others who don’t look or live like us. The point is, nothing about being given the free gift of salvation through God’s mercy makes us superior to anyone else, believer or non-believer. Verse 32 tells us God has given ALL men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all. We are all sinners who would have nothing without the grace and mercy of a loving God.

I never thought my sister deserved a “get out of trouble” pass when we were growing up, but it turns out I didn’t either. Yet my parents showed us the same mercy. God does the same. Not one of us has done anything to earn salvation, but He offers it freely to all who believe.

If you are in a place today where you feel like the Jews who turned away from God, it’s not too late to come to Him. He is waiting to lavish His mercy and grace on you.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.
  
• SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
  
• OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises? 
  
• APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you? 
  
• PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.