Today's passage: Romans 9, MSG, courtesy of BibleGateway.org
Highlighted characteristic of God: God is supreme. We are in no position to say, "God, that's not fair!"--He's God. He does what He wants. And it's right. So, when He chooses to make us spiritually insightful, chooses to give us a great grade on a test, chooses to use us to do His will in an incredible way, chooses to love us, chooses to send us to heaven, we can't take any credit.
In two words--God gives.
Highlighted characteristic for us: We can't take credit. There is absolutely no ground for boasting. We are incredibly blessed beyond words to be chosen to be God's people. We need to take lots of care to stay away from getting wrapped up in doing what the Message calls "God-projects"--trying to prove that we are a good choice for the Kingdom of God by doing good things, or trying to prove that God is with us by doing incredible things for Him. Don't get me wrong; doing good things is good. Doing them for the wrong reasons is bad.
The ironic part is that our "God-projects" aren't really "God-projects" at all, because they originate with us and our desire to be "good enough." They aren't "God-projects." God's goodness comes from God, and true "God-projects" come from Him.
We can't get distracted with trying to prove anything, whether it's proving to God that we're worth His time or proving to others that we're good.
In three words--Alone, we're helpless.
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