“22 And what if God, wanting to display his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And what if he did this to make known the riches of his glory on objects of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory — 24a on us, the ones he also called,…”
In the previous devotional, Paul explained in verses 19-21 that God has created some people for honor, and others for dishonor, yet, those who reject God will be held accountable. How is this fair? How can that be just? Paul told us we have no right to question God for how He creates us and for what purposes He uses us, only that we should give praise to God for those upon whom He does shine His grace and mercy.
In verses 22-24a, Paul will answer a related question. One might ask, “If God is the one who creates each one of us for His own purposes, either for righteousness or unrighteousness, why does He allow unrighteousness to exist?” “Why does God need to create people for the purpose of living unrighteous lives?” The answer: God will get His glory out of the unrighteous also. Complete understanding of this phenomenon may not be possible for us. What we can know is that as God both judges the wicked and as He chooses to show mercy and kindness to those whom He has chosen, God will be glorified. Whether through His righteous and just judgment of sinners, or through His merciful and sacrificial act of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God will get His glory. Who are we to question how he has fashioned His creation?
“The Lord has prepared everything for his purpose — even the wicked for the day of disaster.” — Proverbs 16:4
“So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, the stone that the builders rejected — this one has become the cornerstone, and a stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.” — 1 Peter 2:7-8
Verse 23 reveals something worthy of awe that God is doing in the lives of those He has chosen as objects of mercy. God is creating a new being; not one like the angels (for whom there is no redemption from sin), not one like those who have fallen into lives of sin and unrighteousness (who will be judged), but rather, one who was fallen, yet now has been redeemed and made righteous in God’s eyes. Those who are created to be objects of mercy are unlike any other creature God has made. Perhaps it is in this way that God plans to use those vessels reserved for unrighteousness for His glory. Perhaps it is their purpose to stand in contrast to this new creation He has made.