“Drastic measures”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, July 7, 2022

Romans 9:19-33 (Forward, p. 70) CEV p. 1181

Unfortunately, all of us, me included, take God a little too lightly. We forget, or gloss over, His total and utter hatred and disapproval of sin. We forget that it upsets and angers Him, and we forget or dismiss the unpleasant fact that He rightfully has the jurisdiction, power and authority to punish that sin.

Of course, some will suggest that blaming us for our sin, & then punishing us for it, is unfair, since God has made us that way, made us with free will, with choice. But that, as Paul says, is like the clay objecting to the potter for what he chooses to make of it. However, it merely demonstrates, in living colour, the breadth of His mercy and love, the drastic measures that He is willing to go to in assisting us.

As it is, it is only because He has chosen to show us His mercy, something that is totally undeserved or unmerited on our parts, that we are ‘not consumed’. And, as just mentioned, it is not something that we have somehow earned through our own efforts, by keeping the Law for instance. In fact, by trying to keep the Law and thinking that doing so will render us acceptable, we are undoing and rejecting what God has already done, already accomplished at great cost to Himself. It is like spitting in His face and rejecting His great offer, His great gift of grace. No, what God wants is simply for us to swallow our pride and independence, our determination to ‘do it our way’, to do it ourselves, and accept His great gift. It has come at such a great price, namely as a result of the death of His Son Jesus—it was such a drastic measure on His part--so who are we to reject it? Amen.

Forward notes: But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’” (verse 20)

“A preacher I love once said that apocalyptic scripture is a bit like bitter medicine: it may be good for you, but better to take it in big gulps and get it over with. The experience of reading today’s lessons [e.g. Deuteronomy 3: 23-28; Romans 9:19-33; Matthew 24:1-14] feels a bit like a one-two punch, that destruction, war, and disasters will come, and through it all, we are clay in a potter’s hands, for the potter’s purposes. That’s some pretty harsh ‘good news.’

“Yet apocalyptic speech served an important purpose for its hearers: to comfort and encourage. And though we may read terror and powerlessness, we can find comfort here too.

“First, this passage is saying that whatever comes, God will be with us. If something terrible happens to you, you can take courage in knowing it is not yet the end. Paul takes this to a challenging place. It is not just our times that are in God’s hands but our very beings. We are God’s creation, in the deepest sense. Even in moments of our greatest frustration with God, we have been created for glory.”

MOVING FORWARD: “When you read difficult scripture, do you set it aside or dig more deeply to find the good news?”