Daily Devotion June 17

June 17: Romans 11:19-24

KJV Key Verse: Romans 11:24
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Devotion:
If your read through the bible as if it is a novel you may well miss out on most of the symbolism used throughout God’s word. Each of the writers of the epistles uses various means to engage the people whom the letters are written to. If the letters were written as an essay or transcript of things previously said we may well get tired of reading the letters before we get to the end of them; but because of the way they are written, we are engaged by the words.

Each letter reaches out to many different types of people but always reaching out in love and support for fellow Christians. If we were all the same we would be able to all receive a single style of writing and all get the same story out of it. But because we are different we all get to hear something slightly different to the other people around us. In this case I may well get a different take on this letter – but by discussing things openly we all get to learn something new.

I am certainly no gardener and can kill almost any plant in a very short time without even trying! What really surprises me is when a plant can grow in my house! So the intricacies of how grafting works is lost on me, but the intent is clearly read by me! It is not the biological methods or results here I see but the symbolic meaning of these words. God has every right to cut us down because of the lack of love we show Him just as He has every right to cut down the Israelites for rejecting Him…

Instead, any person who is willing to trust in Him will be given amazing and everlasting support. All those rejecting Him should expect nothing less than being cut off whether they are Jews or anything else. God chose the people of Israel to be the example, but His law extends to all people and He wants all people to get to know and trust in Him. As soon as we put our faith and trust in Christ He brings us into the church and feeds us from the root of the church, nothing less than the best.

Points to Ponder:
Do you know how grafting works?

Do you know Christ wants to graft you into the church?