The struggle continues

Scripture Read: Romans 11:1-10 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.”4 But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. 7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8 just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. 10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever.” 

Application: The Trinity, Incarnation – 100% man & 100% God, Soveriegnty & Free Will… the list is endless on issues that just boggle our human mind. Father – this is where I guess we all struggle – again I realize that we have no right to demand anything from You – yet it seems You built us this way – How can any have real free choice if Your choice is made already and we really have no say. Again with certain verses it can appear that way – but we must examine all of the Word – especially the work You did in Christ – How can we look at what You did with Your Son without the intention of offering to all and allowing them to make the choice. This is a very difficult issue – in the end we will never fully comprehend this – we must realize that – but we need to see how this impacts our faith. On the one hand if we go in one direction too far - if it is all decided ahead – then we should just feel so humbled – why us? On the other hand we might also feel: what’s the use? It’s all decided for us. We might even think: “What if I am not chosen - what if I have deceived myself?” If we go the other direction too far – it is all up to us – what does that do to our understanding of Your sovereignty? Many in reality believe they are saved by grace BUT that grace was extended to us because we are more deserving or were really seeking You on our own. Lord we do not doubt Your love or integrity – we just struggle with our understanding. The one thing we can understand and hold on to is this: How can we not trust someone that sacrificed His only begotten Son for sinners that were not seeking Him? We should continue to think these issues through – we were made to do that. Help us to continue to seek answers from You. Thank You that no matter how frustrating this is to us – we know we can trust You fully and there is no question about Your love for us.