Friday, January 24, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Romans 11-12
Key Verse
Romans 11:29 — “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”
Devotional Thought
Paul opens Romans 11 with a question that pressed hard on the early church: has God abandoned Israel? His answer is immediate and emphatic—God forbid. Paul himself was an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, living proof that God had not cast off His people. He reaches back to Elijah, who stood alone on Mount Carmel’s shadow and cried that he was the only faithful one left, that they sought his life. God’s reply steadied him: I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. There is always a remnant, and it is according to the election of grace, not works—otherwise grace would cease to be grace.
From there Paul unfolds a mystery like a gardener’s work. Israel stumbled, yet not to fall forever; through their stumbling salvation came to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles, wild olive branches, were grafted into the good olive tree contrary to nature. Paul warns the grafted branches not to boast. They do not bear the root; the root bears them. Behold the goodness and severity of God—severity toward those who fell, goodness toward those who stand, if they continue in His goodness. And the promise stands: God is able to graft the natural branches in again. All Israel shall be saved, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Paul ends chapter 11 in doxology: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.
Then comes the hinge of the letter, that great therefore. Because of these mercies, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Be not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul moves straight from sovereign grace to daily conduct: love without dissimulation, abhor evil, cleave to good, prefer one another in honour, be fervent in spirit, patient in tribulation, instant in prayer, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Avenge not yourselves; vengeance belongs to the Lord. If your enemy hungers, feed him. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
In late January, the year still feels new and cold, and resolutions have begun to thin. Paul’s words meet us here. The same God who reserved seven thousand in Elijah’s day has kept us by grace, not by our own strength, and He calls that grace into ordinary faithfulness—a kind word, a shared meal, a quiet refusal to repay evil. The mercy of God is the root; our lives are the branches. Let this day’s small obediences grow from that root.
Reflection
- Paul warns the grafted branches not to boast, since the root bears them and not the other way around. Where in your life have you quietly begun to take credit for what only God’s grace has grown?
- Romans 12:2 says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind rather than conformed to this world. What one pattern of this world is currently shaping your thinking more than Scripture is?
Prayer
Lord, we bow before the depth of Your wisdom and knowledge, whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are past finding out. Thank You that You have not cast away Your people, and that in every generation You reserve a remnant according to the election of grace—not of works, lest any of us should boast. Keep us humble as branches grafted into Your goodness, fearing You and continuing in Your kindness. By Your mercies, help us present our bodies a living sacrifice this day, transformed rather than conformed, loving without dissimulation, patient in tribulation, instant in prayer, and overcoming evil with good. To You be glory for ever. Amen.