Lavish Mercy

Romans 9:1-18
Paul’s words are wrestling within me this morning… I hear him trying to reconcile himself and his followers into the promise of Abraham, but I am struggling to accept his attempt to rationalize his moves. Paul speaks here about “God’s elect,” quoting God in Genesis, “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.” And concluding his argument here stating, “[God] has mercy on whomever [God] chooses, and [God] hardens the heart of whomever [God] chooses.”
Does God really have an “elect?” Does God really choose to have mercy on some and harden the hearts of others? No. Now with that said, I would have to agree with Paul on the level that some folk have not opened themselves to the understanding that all people are children of God, and therefore have chosen to not live out the example of Jesus’ life. But is that a result of God’s choosing or life’s doing?
The grace of God that draws us into more intimate knowings of God and of ourselves is wide and open in its invitation, yet narrow and jagged in its terrain. The wounding that life experience can give us, doesn’t often leave us open to the invitation to join in the journey. The brokenness of our world is evidence of this. Human relationships are broken, and brokenness precipitates brokenness. And every time we perpetuate the brokenness, we participate in humanity’s greatest sin.
So then, how does one open one’s self to receive the understanding that they are a beautiful child of God, claimed by God into the family of God? Well, I think it starts with unbinding mercy and choosing to spread it lavishly to all we encounter.