No Partiality

Not all of the Scripture is easy reading.  Some of it confuses us.  Some of it leaves us with questions for which we have no answers.  Some of it brings surprises.  Some of it is so peaceful we fall asleep while reading and some is so hard it jolts us to the core of our being.  These words we find in the second chapter of Romans are not exactly words which cause us to slip peacefully into our sleep.  They are hard words.  They are words about judgment, words about reaping what is sown, and words that remind us ever so clearly that "...God shows no partiality."  (Romans 2:11)     

The Jews who read Paul's letter would have been tempted to think that God was partial to them since they were historically God's chosen people.  In much the same manner those of us who are the faithful church folks who never miss going in an open church door often subconsciously think we are entitled to preferential care.  It is something we do not say aloud and certainly not in the presence of others, but when we listen to our prayer conversations we often hear ourselves making our case for help on the basis of how we have loved Him or how we want to continue to bring glory to His name.     

Paul throws out this unwanted word that is hard and unbending, "...God shows no partiality."  Within His plan for each of us is the reality of receiving eternal life as a result of our honoring Him and the possibility of divine wrath in response to our love affair with what is evil and opposing His will.  We can choose how we live.  We can choose the consequences.  And while grace and mercy is always operative in the mix of our human predicament, it is our heart which takes us into the place where our soul is endangered or safely home.