Romans 9
The Grace of God’s Choosing!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 4.
What a great day! It was 1991 and my mom watched from the front door of my childhood home in South Windsor, Connecticut. There it was, the envelope from the admissions department of the United States Military Academy. I had walked through the arduous process of receiving a congressional nomination, had taken and retaken standardized testing, and made every effort to secure my appointment to West Point. When the letter came saying that I had been chosen, I raised up my arms in what was the greatest accomplishment of my life up to that point. As I celebrated, my mom cried tears of joy and pride. We had worked hard for me to be chosen to become a member of the Long Gray Line.
Now, fast forward to 2002: What a glorious day! I stood in the living room of that same house on Carriage Drive. I had been chosen again, but this time not by any effort or merit, but by God’s sovereign grace. My mom cried tears of joy and astonishment this time at the news. This time, with my wife on my arm, we stepped out in faith because we had been called to the pastorate and I was leaving my army career behind. It was by God’s grace that we were taking steps toward seminary.
Paul illuminates God’s work and not our own in His sovereign choosing. Here is a glimpse from Romans 9:20-21,
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 of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Seize the moment and find rest in what only God can do: rest in the grace of God’s salvation!