"In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
they will be called ‘children of the living God.'"
How good and pleasant it is to hear these words from Paul. I am not his people, but I get to be called a child of the living God. Can't you just see this on a decorative piece in the gift section of the local christian bookstore?
Paul quotes from Hosea 1:10 here. Check out the original context of these words. Just prior to this, in verse 4, God tells Hosea that he will put an end to the kingdom of Israel...break Israel's bow. Led by Jehu, Israel had conducted a massacre at Jezreel. God is definitely not heaping praise when Hosea 1:10 is uttered. He is removing his blessing from Israel and now including Judah into the family. This had to blow some minds.
Fast forward to Romans 9. Paul is planting his argument firmly into the larger story of God's history. God's inclusion of Gentiles in salvation is not unprecedented. God has reached out to those who were not loved by him and loved them. So, if we FF to today, should we expect anything less from God?
I am indebted to God's grace forever because he reached out to me, not in his family, and made me part of his family. That grace ought to be the same grace that pushes me outside my comfort zone to those who are not yet part of the family. That grace doesn't produce hospitality in me...it is the hospitality in me.
If you want to get the devotionals for chapter 9, click here for the pdf version of Chapter 9 in the Reading Plan. Chapters 9 & 10 will be included in the updated pdf and epub files this weekend.
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