By Chalcedony Williams and Christopher Dryden
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ.
In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then, others will realise that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honour and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:12-17 NLT
Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you, Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?
And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?
For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
Romans 11:28-36 NLT
An encounter with Jesus can do wonders. Once stubborn and proud men can be humbled and determined to shine the light away from them to the One who gave them another chance to live.
In the reading from 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul outlines how, after an encounter with Jesus, he recognises his unworthiness to be appointed to ministry. Yet it wasn’t about his worthiness, as he recognised how the transformation in him equipped him to serve. From that perspective, a renewed and humbled Paul could praise God for His wisdom expressed in the mercy that set the path for him to fulfil God's call on his life. The call to express the wonderful story of God.
God’s story is wondrous, mysterious and fascinating.
It’s wondrous how we are given a view from before time and then plunged into the intrigue of life on Earth. It's also mysterious how He deals with creatures made to love Him by choice who instead rebel against Him and find pleasure in things that cannot satisfy him. There’s the ongoing question of why a mighty, righteous, and holy God persists and maintains faithfulness with such a rebellious creature.
Then, the fascination with how God will reach people who refuse to acknowledge their desired Savour is the Lord Jesus Christ. Their refusal to acknowledge Him opens the door for those not part of the covenant story. The door is open for them to turn from their evil ways to the Lord Jesus Christ to become a part of this eternally captivating story. And the faithful promises of God ensure that this will likewise enable His covenant people to return to Him.
The wisdom of God in salvation doesn’t depend on our background, our level of knowledge, or whether we’re close to Him through tradition or far from Him through ignorance. The wisdom of God in salvation is the wonder, mystery, and fascination of mercy. His mercy takes on the sins of the world through His Son, and those who turn in faith can receive what they do not deserve but what He generously offers. This wisdom in salvation through mercy is a good reason to worship and adore Him.
As an act of God, we claim no credit. As a gift from God, we don’t have to earn it. As the power of God, we don’t have to rely on our efforts for its success. As the word of God, we get the opportunity to hear it, accept it, meditate on it, be transformed by it, and share it with others in the hope they too will receive it.
Ask: What is the similarity between the mercy of God for Paul and Israel?
Seek: How can you learn God’s wisdom expressed through His mercy? How will that influence your interactions with people currently hostile to the gospel?
Knock: Consider God's mercy in your life and note down two or three episodes where you have experienced it. For each episode, think of someone you know who needs an encounter with Jesus and God's mercies. Pray that they will have their own episodes to celebrate God's amazing wisdom expressed in His mercy. Praise God for His mercies that are extended to all.
