GOD IS ABLE - 17. Grafting them in

~ You, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree. ... And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. -Romans 11:17, 23

You probably did not expect a gardening lesson in today's "God is able" passage! But the analogy of grafting—taking a branch from one tree and connecting it to another tree—served the writer, Paul, very well as he explained his subject to Christians in first-century Rome.

First, some context. Probably 98% of the Bible's Old Testament explains how God chose one nation, Israel, through whom to show both His justice and His grace. They became His unique people. He sent them prophets, gave them His law, and provided a way for them to come close to Him. God didn't ignore the Gentile nations, but He was not near them in the same way (most Gentiles completely ignored Him anyway); and besides, He didn't want Israel to lose their identity as His people by mixing in with those nations.

But then, in the New Testament, God revealed the final phase of His plans. History had proven that even "favored nations" do not stay true to their identity. In Israel, the people enjoyed debating the finer points of the law more than developing a relationship with the God who gave that law. This was not Israel's failure alone; their history simply reveals the weakness we all have as human beings.

So God sent His final Rescuer, Jesus the Savior, the one He had kept in reserve until the time was right. Probably 98% of the New Testament explains how Jesus, God the Son, is now gathering Jewish and Gentile people together, uniting them in Himself and erasing all the old distinctions. It's an amazing message of God's mercy, love, and sovereign choice.

Now, back to our olive garden. Paul tells these Roman Christians, "You (Gentiles) were wild olive branches, yet God has grafted you into His tree." God's tree means His stream of blessings. Just as the roots of an olive tree nourish every branch, so God richly blesses every branch that becomes His.

But then Paul says of the Jewish nation, "God is able to graft them back in too!" He has not cast His people away. Not only have many culturally Jewish individuals chosen to follow Jesus (after all, the first Christians were Israelis), but God also has a plan to bless the entire nation during His future kingdom on earth, just as He promised in Old Testament times.

Do you see the glory of this "God is able" phrase? It means that God holds all the threads of history, and they are never tangled or lost. What's more, this is true not only of nations but also of us. God has not forgotten who and where we are. He is still reaching to us from His garden, calling us to abandon unbelief so He can graft us into His tree of blessings.