Today’s reading is Romans 11: 25-36

Today we see the part of Paul’s struggles with God’s grace and salvation.  The rest of Romans will delve more into the practical nature of salvation and a holy life.  The verse that resonates with me the most from today’s readings is what is written in 11:32 – For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

To me, that verse says this – all are captive to the effects of sin. What it means that all are imprisoned is this.  When sin entered into the world, all humans were imprisoned. That was the consequence of the fall.  We are all bound by sin in that way.  But this punishment was given so that all could be shown grace.

Think of this way. I’ve had many ask if the Lord knew we would eat from the tree, why did He put it there?  This was His plan all the time.  God wanted us to freely respond to grace, and He wanted us to know the lengths of His grace. Because of sin, we see the depths of God’s love for us.  We see how deeply He loves us in a way that we would have never known if not for the reality of sin. Our sin allows God to show us the depth of His love and mercy.

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