Not Your Call

It’s hard for everyone. We see behavior we don’t agree with, and we are tempted to judge someone. We think because we don’t ‘do what they do’ that somehow makes us the judge. Well, I have news for you. It’s not your call. It’s God’s.

Brethren, it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call, she was told, “The elder will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy. For the scripture says to Pharoah, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

Romans 9.6-19

Saint Paul isn’t just speaking to us as sinners. He is trying to call us to a higher level of faith. If God can raise up children from a barren woman, who is to say He can’t raise us up to become His children. Of course, being His children means we learn His ways.

This reading should also remind us that IF we find ourselves in heaven, it is not because of anything that we may have, or may not have, done. If God chooses to save us, that is His prerogative. So, let’s turn our attention to the last verse. “Why does God still find fault?”

If God has the prerogative, then that means our job isn’t to work to ‘get into’ heaven. Our job is to ‘want to be’ in heaven. Wanting to be in heaven is much harder than actually ‘getting in’ based upon today’s reading. Getting in is God’s choice. Wanting to be in is our choice.

That’s where it gets difficult. Every time we see someone we think isn’t working hard enough, we think, “why should THEY be here?” Then we get lazy thinking, “Well, if THEY can get in without doing everything, then I’m going to take it easy.” Too bad for us.

In truth we have no idea what struggles another has in their life. We only see what they show us, and we only know what they tell us. It is God Who knows the whole picture. It is God Who understands what obstacles they have overcome to be where they are.

I invite you to spend the last couple days of the Apostles Fast focusing on YOUR heart. If God hasn’t hardened your heart, it is totally up to YOU to see His mercy as a blessing. If YOU harden your own heart, then I invite you to remind yourself. It’s not your call ‘who’ gets in.

The only part that is your call is whether you want to be ‘in’ with everyone else and God. That part is in your hands.

For a complete study on the Book of Romans, check out our Bible Study on Romans.