"Heart of Stone"

 "He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." (John 12:40 KJV)

  "In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau." Are we saying then, that God was unfair? Of course not! For God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose." So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it." (Romans 9:13-16 NLT)

 So, here we are, supposably, pinned into a corner, as if there is no way out, only God gets to decide if there is a way out: Really? Is that what you believe? There are two sets of circumstance that is being shown: one is the point of God's All-seeing Knowledge, the other, less powerful, is our finite minds, which can barely see our own hand out in front of our face! 

 That said, I believe that God knows more about us, then we know of ourselves. We don't get to choose what we are, because we don't even know ourselves what we will become; as crazy as that might sound, it is just the way we are, unpredictable and capable of doing anything.

 We see someone do something, and then say, "I would never do that!" But guess what, you really don't have that type of control! We need to have the kind of heart that is thankful that God choose us! Not the kind of heart that might think you choose God, as if you were the one who initiated that connection! I spent half of my life looking for God, before He reached down and pull me out of the crowd, letting me know who He was! 

 That is the sign of compassion and mercy! God is the Merciful One, not you or me! We would be just fine, if God would just leave us alone; but He chooses to reach down and plunk us up out of grip of hell! Count your blessings, and make that one the first...

"Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all." (Ephesians 4:1-6 NLT)