Series: Family Privilege
Message: Rejection
Preacher: Jessyka Albert
Reflection: Jessyka Albert
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 9:1-33 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Have you ever taken a moment to think that you were created by God for a specific purpose in life? Paul uses the stories of Moses and Pharaoh to bring this idea to life. I struggle with the text we read that talks about God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. We read that God says of Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Romans 9:17). That doesn’t settle well in my heart. God says to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”
I think it is normal and natural to struggle with these texts. It’s almost as if Paul knows that is a point of tension and answers the question we’re all wanting to ask him.
“You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist God’s will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom He has called, no from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:19-24)
The people in Paul’s time believed that, yes, God was the potter, and that, yes, they were the clay, but that they were a special kind of clay. Paul drives home the point that it is not the clay that dictates what it will become, but God. His plan for our life trumps any plan we may build up. We struggle with our calling in life because we want it to align with what God has in store for us. We spend so much time evaluating what kind of clay we are instead of evaluating what God has made us into and the plan and purpose that He has for us.
Recalibrate: When was a time God has shown you mercy or compassion?
Respond: Ask God to give you eyes to see people as His masterpiece and not as lumps of clay.
Research: Reread the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Ask again, “Is God unjust?”
Remember: “Is God unjust? Certainly not!” (Romans 9:14, KNT).
Jessyka Albert has been associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church since 2016. She grew up in Washington State, graduated from Union College, and is engaged to Kiefer Dooley, Rocky Mountain Conference associate youth director. Pastor Jessyka has a particular passion for children and youth, and is instrumental in creating amazing faith experiences for these groups.
Make a game of “This is how we . . . .” For example, in our home this is how we share our toys. In our home, this is how we talk to each other. In our home, this is how we play. We can choose how we do our day, not because we must but because that is how we love to choose God’s way.
On Monday, we made a list of our family and friends and what we appreciate about them. Today, write a list of all the things that make your family your family. Does your family always sit at the dinner table to eat? Do you talk about your day or not? Do you do chores together? How would you describe the best things about your family? Do you do things differently to what your friend’s families do?
I was born in America, raised in America, and currently live in America. So was my mom. And my grandparents. My great grandparents all come from Bolonga, Turin, and Milan, Italy. But as for me, I’m just American. For crying out loud, my last name is Smith, can you get more American? Being American can be a bit underwhelming when you have been born and raised in this country. And you learn quickly when you travel outside of the U.S. that many people look down on Americans. Yet, one thing I have learned is that many people fight extremely hard to become American. Something I take for granted and sometimes try to hide, many are literally dying to attain. As I think about my citizenship on this earth, it causes me to think about my citizenship in Heaven. God has declared, “Those who are not my people I will call my people.” You are God’s people. Did you know that? You are a citizen of Heaven. And do you know what the coolest thing about our citizenship in heaven is? We don’t have to fight for it. Jesus has made us citizens of Heaven. Today, take time to reflect on the fact that you are a citizen of Heaven.