I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

--Parallel verse:
Ephesians‬ ‭3:6‬
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

[If you had a hard time following this passage in Romans, so did I. It OK, it is a bit cryptic because he is trying to describe a mysterious part of God.] I love a good mystery. Sometimes the more twists and turns, the more exciting it is. Correction — I should say I love a good mystery movie, where I get to experience the mystery without experiencing the twists and turns along the way in real life! But mysteries are exciting in life too, if we keep the right perspective. We have a God that loves us and rescued us. We know Jesus can empathize with our every struggle and he can understand our every need.

When I think about the mystery of salvation for me and my family, I get really excited. Surprises and mysteries are exciting, if you know the source of the surprise or that the mystery is always good all the time. And what is this mystery? How do we define it? We can’t fully define it. We get glimpses and visions, and we can see parts of it. It will be fully defined when we get to heaven. Here are a few mysteries from God I see: How does God bring together people from totally different backgrounds, cultures and families and make them into the family of God? The world cannot do this. Instead, it divides and isolates people through grouping them together and comparing. God, by his Spirit can do it and it is a great mystery!

Another great mystery is that God can at once exhibit the patience to see most of Israel come back to him and still be able to work through Gentiles and a few of the Jews to accomplish his kingdom priorities. Mystery: How does he balance justice and grace?
On a personal note, I still wrestle with the mystery of understanding how God can love a sinner like me so completely, but the great mystery of salvation is … he does! He loves me so much he sent his Son to die for my sins and rescue me. And he has done this for you too!

Lord, praise you for the mysteries in life! I don’t always enjoy them in the moments or fully understand them, but I know you have great things in store for your faithful servants at the end of the ride. So, I choose to ride the ups and downs of life with you today!