I, A BRANCH

i was flipping through Romans this morning when i started reading chapter 9. then 10. then 11. in those three chapters, paul wrote about his heart (and God's heart) for the nation of Israel. i'm sure i'd read those words before, but this morning, i read it with fresh eyes. you see, one of my closest friends at school is jewish and with all the conflict in the world going on, she's started to strongly identify herself as a jewish person. and reading the passage this morning, i learned that God's heart was first and foremost for the jews. but since they rejected Him, He allowed us gentiles to come into His kingdom as well. paul explained it with an illustration: just as a wild olive branch is grafted into a cultivated orchard olive tree, gentiles are welcomed into His family. so i realized that i am not an olive tree. i am simply a wild olive branch that has been given a chance to live in the orchard. all by God's grace and for His glory. :>

but it makes me pray harder for my jewish friend 'cuz she belongs in God's kingdom!

After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
~Romans 11:24~