I am a Vehicle of Mercy

Well, after my last post on scripture memorization, I have decided to share with you in the next few entries some of the things Jesus showed me in Romans 11 and 12. Today, I want to talk about mercy. Now, most of my life I've been a pretty justice oriented person. Things tend to be black and white for me. I have a love for theology, politics and truth. I like absolutes and concrete thoughts. I like knowing what's right and what's wrong. That's the way I believe God made me. It is my strength, but it can also be my curse. If balanced with the mercy of God (which always triumphs over judgement, a point I constantly need reminding of) a love for justice is a great thing! The writers of the Psalms and Proverbs plead with us to love justice. But, it's when mercy is lacking, that zeal for all things just, becomes a curse to the soul. This year, God did a major overhaul on my heart and is daily increasing the gift of mercy in my life. (Side-note: mercy is a spiritual gift and Paul says to pursue the gifts. If you feel like you're lacking in the area of mercy [or any other gift] like I was, ask God to give you more of that gift! It works.) I'm learning the art of merciful justice, which in the Kingdom of God is not an oxymoron. How did this happen? Read on...

This spring, our class was traveling and ministering in Israel. One sunny afternoon, we were having our weekly Romans Bible study in a grassy park right outside the Old City. We were discussing chapter 11, what I believe to be one of the most important sections of scripture to the church today. The call of God to Israel can not be revoked or redirected to "the church." Believers in Jesus do not replace Israel, rather we join them. I could and people have written entire books on this subject, so I will not go into great depth here, but there's a few verses at the end of the chapter that are quite remarkable.

30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

God has veiled the eyes of His people, so that the nations could partake in the gift of salvation. Before Yeshua, we were all missing out. When I say we, I mean the gentiles/nations - I am one, so 'we' just makes sense to me. We (gentiles) weren't of Abraham's bloodline, the end. We were disobedient to God, worshiping false idols with pagan rituals. But God, in His deep mercy and love for us, veiled the eyes of His own people, that through their disobedience to Him, we would have a chance to receive His mercy! Unbelievable! But many of us stop there. We say, "Thank you Jesus for Your mercy, now what's on TV tonight?" Some of us see error in the first response and choose to instead focus on loving the Jewish people. This is good! We should love them and have a gratefulness in our hearts that they've suffered for generations for our salvation. It's sobering, but so important to realize! Earlier in chapter 11, Paul says that Israel is blinded in part, until the fullness of the gentiles has come in. But that spring afternoon, while sitting on the grass at the base of Mt. Zion, God showed me a third response, a revelation, it might even deserve the title epiphany. It's from the end of verse 31,

31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

It all comes back to mercy. You see I, like many other believers today, had seen the suffering of Israel that I might be saved and was extremely grateful! I go to Israel to serve them and show my deep love for them. This is a great thing to do, but somewhere along the way, I got a little confused. I tend to go to extremes, my mom describes it as a pendulum on a clock that swings from one direction to the furthest possible opposite direction, thankfully the Holy Spirit is teaching me balance. But, in an effort to distance myself from the widely accepted Christian belief that Israel is unimportant and irrelevant to us today, my pendulum swung hard. I began to put the Jewish people on a bit of a pedestal, all subconsciously mind you. By focusing so much on what God has done for me through the Jewish people, I started to downplay if not totally erase the role of the gentiles in God's plan. I knew that we were important in the sense that we are to love God and each other. We are called to minister and evangelize, but in the grand scheme of things, I started to see us as tag-alongs. I'll say right now that this is not God's heart! You have to read all the way to the end of verse 31, that through the mercy shown us, they also might obtain mercy! In Romans 10, Paul says that ALL Israel will be saved. In chapter 11, he says that their acceptance will be life from the dead, and we know from what Jesus says in the book of Matthew, that when Israel turns her heart towards Yeshua as her Messiah, there will be world revival and then the end will come and our Bridegroom with it! But how is Israel going to come back? God, in His sovereignty, could simply bring them back alone - but because He loves us, He allows us gentiles to be involved in the process by becoming vehicles of mercy to the Jewish people. Isn't it beautiful? They become disobedient that we might receive merciful salvation and through that same mercy in us, they too will receive merciful salvation. This revelation is just another example of how our circular God is constantly pretzeling my linear mind. This revelation has literally changed my life, from my prayer to purpose, delights to direction. One of my favorite things about God is that He doesn't have plan B's. He is the sovereign Ancient of Days. He did not choose Israel, oh and then include the gentiles as an after thought. No, no, He choose the Jews - that they might play a part in saving the nations - that the nations would play a part in saving the Jews. Paul calls it the mystery of the Gospel. I call it beautiful.

While I was in Ethiopia, I had the opportunity to meet many Jewish people (some who have yet to know the love of Yeshua as their Messiah) who were living in complete poverty. And guess what was going through my head the whole time? Oh Jesus! Have mercy on them! You've taken care of me, loved me, provided for me and saved me. Please Jesus, do the same for them - have mercy! It was real. My eyes could not stay dry and my heart would not ease. It's because I have chosen to step into the destiny that God has for me as a carrier of mercy to His people.

I am a young woman with no Jewish blood that love Jesus, that makes me a vehicle of mercy to Israel. Living in Jerusalem everyday has caused this revelation to become reality in me. What does being a carrier of mercy look like? Is it intercession that Israel would know God's mercy? Is it working with the poor and needy Jewish people? Is it helping the Jewish woman with five little kids out to her car at the supermarket just up the road from my apartment? Is it continuously forgiving when they hurt your feelings? Is it showing the love of Yeshua in my countenance as well as in words of evangelism? And I would say that the answer it yes. If you're a Jewish person, ask God how you can fulfill your destiny to bless the nations because you've been greatly blessed (Gen. 12:3). And if you're a Gentile, ask God how He wants you to fulfill your destiny to show mercy because you've been shown such great mercy (Rom. 11). He created these roles for you in the "grand scheme of things" before the beginning of creation - walk in them.