Well Laid Plans (Romans 9)

What happens when you hold onto your plan so tightly that you almost miss the new thing God is doing in your midst? In Romans 9, Paul begins by lamenting that Israel had chosen the sense of safety and security provided by the Law over faith in Jesus. God’s plan for the Israelites was for them to experience new life in Christ and to share that new life with others. The Law was not a bad plan. After all, it was the plan that God had given to Israel. But it was part of a larger plan and Jesus was the culmination of that plan. But instead of embracing Jesus, the Israelites chose instead the comfort of what they thought they knew. To embrace new things means we often have to let go of old things. Admittedly, that is scary. In Israel, we see our own tendency to retreat to what is safe and secure instead of embracing the new thing God is doing. But when we let go and see the new thing God is doing in us, we also begin to see the new things God is doing in our communities.