April 25

---

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Romans 9:20

---

🔊 This phrase sums up the arrogance of someone who speaks to God as if they were equal with Him.  The sin of pride is not just one in the long list of sins; it is the very core of sin.  It gives power to the kingdom of darkness and is the source of blindness; it immunises us against rational thought, while at the same time making us believe it is the embodiment of reason.  We must speak to God honestly, but also humbly, about what we think and feel.  We may feel that God seems to have made a mistake over some issue, but it is vitally important that we bow before Him and seek understanding.  Israel fell because they did not recognise God’s sovereign will and right to choose.  They believed they were qualified to be accepted on the grounds of their origin and moral superiority.  But their acceptance was not traceable back to human virtue, but to God’s grace and favour.  As soon as we believe we are superior in any point, God will allow us to be tempted on that line, to expose the absolute barrenness of the human heart in spiritual power.  Without God’s grace our lives will decay and collapse.  We are endowed with many wonderful qualities, but all of them, without exception, flow from God’s gracious gift and kindness.  The realisation of this produces a wonder and a gentleness in us when we speak to God, and dissolves the arrogance from our hearts.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9.