"So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy" (Romans 9:16).
We’re all control freaks. And that makes grace maddening. It is just so darn uncontrollable. Grace is not manageable. Jesus warned us with an intensity and passion about the death that comes with being a deserving Pharisee (Matt. 23, Mk. 12:38-40, Lk. 20:45-47). Anyone can get outward routines and habits right, the Pharisees certainly did--and most of them went to hell. I got a million reasons why God should bless me and they are all illegitimate and dangerously offensive to my God. Have you ever just felt like you were on top of things spiritually and that God was impressed? On my best day I need Jesus and his substitutionary death on the cross. Jesus took my place because my best day is as about as good as used toilet paper compared with the currency of holiness.
Romans 9 tells us that Jesus is a stumbling block. Indeed, many will stumble over him. Why? Because him hanging on a cross reveals the extreme ugliness of my sin and what it would take to bring me into reconciliation with himself. As Matt Chandler tweeted yesterday, "Jesus is not a means to an end, he is the goal and you're an idolator."
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