Today's Passage:  Romans 9

We've all heard the story of Cinderella and her three wicked step-sisters.  In the beginning of the story, the step-sisters are (or feel) entitled.  They are the ones deserving of being served...the ones deserving of all the good things in life...and maybe most importantly, deserving of an invitation to the ball.  They view Cinderella as a second-class citizen who is only good for servanthood and suffering.  They laughed at the idea that she could somehow be on their level.

When Paul addresses the Jews in Romans 9, he's addressing the same sense of entitlement.  The Jews assumed that their birthright would allow them a special place with God.  They found their righteousness not in the work of Christ, but in the law of Moses.  They viewed everybody else as a second-class citizen that would not be worthy of a place at God's table.

What Paul is telling them is the same thing the wicked step-sisters learn in Cinderella...it's not birthright that gets you an invitation or makes you worthy.  It's the invitation of the King that decides who is worthy to be at His table.  Christ's invitation is for everyone...Jew, Gentile, slave, free, as Paul will say later...that anyone who calls on His name will be saved.

Praise God that He makes me worthy!