Excerpt from Romans 11:2-10

 ". . . as it is written, 'God gave them a sluggish spirit, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.'"

Reflection by Rodney L. Mundy

I always have a problem with scripture when it suggests that God is the reason someone (or some people) just don't get it.  If this is true, then no one really knows if they are responsible for anything or not.  Today's passage is like the God-version of the old 1960's expression, "the devil made me do it."  I'm not responsible!

God gave them a sluggish spirit, eyes and ears that did not function.  Some gift from God.  How can a God that is all-knowing and all-loving be this, well, mean-hearted? Why does God seem to choose some to get it and not others?  Worse still, why does God choose that some will work hard and still never get it?

Why would I want to give praise to and worship a God that is like this?  What is the point in going to church anyway if it’s already determined that the cards are stacked against you?

Simple.  It's like experiencing the worst possible thing you can imagine and then finding a way to live with it and grow from it.  When my son was very small, he loved to watch "The Wizard of Oz."  But he did not like the part about the wicked witch. He would always look up at me, amazed that I was still watching the screen.  One day he asked how  I could look at that horrible thing.  I told him something I had heard before: "I look because I know the end of the story."

Knowing the end of the story can help us to see past what frightens us or does not seem to make sense.  If it doesn't make sense (like a God who gives sluggish spirits) then remember that God loves us so much that Jesus was born, died and rose again so that we might get it.

Prayer

Giving God, when our spirits are sluggish, help us to get it.  Amen.

About the Author Rodney L. Mundy is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.

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