Devotion #6: Who am I to Question?

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘or who has given a gift to him or he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36 

In this passage, Paul is speaking to the Jews about the topic of salvation. At this point in history, salvation is offered to everyone. Meaning that Jesus had come and died on the cross for the sins of the entire world. However, there were some Jews who did not like this idea, and Paul tried his best to correct their mindset by pointing them to God’s mercy for all. Paul does a great job of putting God on the throne, explaining that God is merciful over all, and basically stating, “Who are we compared to God?” 

This makes me think of the concept of “putting yourself on a pedestal.” I remember when I was a child, my mom would remind me to be careful when doing so. She would remind me to always do what the Bible says, “Put God first.” I remember always trying to correct myself and make sure I was putting God first. Thanks, Mom, for instilling that in me. Without that being instilled in me, I would be in a very dark place right now. In relation to this passage, Paul is correcting the Jews in this way. 

However, we see that the Jews were putting themselves in the place of God by casting judgment and questioning salvation for the Gentiles. Paul shuts this down. He points the people to God, saying in verse 32, “For God has cosigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” Basically, he was saying that if God the Creator, Author, Finisher, Father, King of Kings, and the great “I Am” (Exodus 3) can have mercy on everyone in the world, who are we to not? 

That is just it! Who are we to judge God’s final judgments? Who are we, as dust (Genesis), to determine the salvation of another? God, who is good, full of mercy, and without sin, loves everyone. I love the passage from Romans chapter 11 because it points out the wonder of God. It signifies how we will never fully understand Him because of how great He is. Yet, to know that He still loves all and has made a way for all to be saved is absolutely amazing to me. God, Who is so great, and still loves me this much is breathtaking. 

Have you been putting yourself on the pedestal where the Lord should be? Have you been determining others’ outcomes based on their sin? Let me remind you of this, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We are all lost and born into this broken world, and there is one Man who can save you. Jesus loves us so much. He came and died on the cross for you, me, and the person who did you wrong. It is time to put the Almighty God first and follow Him. Take a moment to pray and ask the Lord to correct “any grievous way” in you and point you to what is everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).