But concerning Israel He says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”  Romans 10:21

Until last week, every time I read this verse, my focus was on the people’s disobedience and obstinacy.  I would picture that God had “had it up to here” with them; I thought that was the point of this verse.  But I’ve been studying Romans in my small group, and have been awed by the theme in Romans 9 and 10 that God is constantly reaching out to all people.  Now I see that what God is saying in this passage is that He is reaching out in love to people, even people that don’t love him or care about following him, and He does not give up on doing this.  He’s not saying, “Your time is up,” He’s saying, “I’m still reaching out to you.”

Sometimes I deal with disobedient and obstinate people, or maybe just grumpy ones.  I can be gracious…for a while.  But then I get tired of that, and I just want to be selfish.  God uses even my failures for his glory; when I see my own limitations, it makes me worship Jesus all the more, for he never grew weary of doing good.  He never gave in to selfishness; he resolutely trusted his father’s plan, purpose, and will.  As I worship Jesus for his perfect grace, it gives me a little more strength to dust myself off and renew my commitment to love a little more like God does, without giving up.

Let us not become weary in doing good… Galatians 6:9

Mostly, I am awed by God’s persistent love and grace as I picture Him reaching out His hands to us.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
Isaiah 40:28