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Connected
Jeff WeinkaufRomans 9:30-33 (message)
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:
Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can’t get around.
But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,
you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.
This section of scripture is so good and an excellent reminder for those of us who's birthright is "the church". By that I mean, we who grew up in it, or even call it our profession.
I think of it like a club where we know all the rules and even the secret handshake. If we're not careful, something which starts out as a privilege (a saving knowledge of God) can turn into an elitist mindset. We know what's up, we're in, we have the connection. Then over time we who are in the "know" end up missing the heart of the matter because we become more focused on the "stuff" of church instead of the one who calls us to relationship.
I can remember a few years back when a friend who happens to be a concert pianist came to share at our church during worship. He played with great skill and even at times an intensity (prescribed by the writer of the piece). It was a very moving time. After the service one lifetime member made her way to the front of the auditorium intent on informing him his style was out of bounds for church. "This is a STEINWAY!" she exclaimed, exasperated by how he'd desecrated the instrument with his "pounding" as she saw it.
Preference aside, this passage in Romans explains to us how she "didn't notice God right in front of her". The music along with skillful preaching had been part of the mix of tools God used that day to draw people closer to Him. She'd missed the beauty happening around her because for a moment, it was more about her plans rather than God's plans for the morning. It had become purely academic.
That's what is being described in Romans 9. God's people knew about him, but they didn't seem to know Him at that deep connective level. That can happen to us to, knowing the right phrases but missing communion with Him. That's the danger for us I think. When faith becomes something we "do" or have always done. When it loses the relational element Jesus came to provide for us thought His death and resurrection.
Romans tells us those that should have got it, missed it, why? "Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them,".
God please break through calcified places in my life. Help me to stay connected at a deep deep level with you. Help me to see where I am leaning more on tradition than relationship. God bless our church family and help them to stay focused and connected with you too. Amen.
