63. Called My People
Romans 9:25a As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people.
The prophet Hosea had a son he was told to name “Not My People,” but when God loved and redeemed them he called them, “My People.” This is the promise: we, who were not God’s people, will be called My People. All sinners have separated themselves from God and are not considered His People; we are alone and on our own because we have declared Him “Not my God.” In other words, sinners have no relationship with God and are alienated from Him (and so from everyone else).
But God had mercy on me, one of the “not My people.” He came to earth, died for us, paid the ransom and bought us back from the Baal gods (Sin, Death, Devil) who kidnapped and enslaved us. Now I am one of His people again. He loves me, takes responsibility for me, cares for me, provides for me, and protects me because I am His and He is mine. The Bible uses the metaphor of Shepherd and Sheep to show us a picture of what it looks like when we are His people and He is our God. “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” [Psalm 100:3}. Like a good shepherd, the Lord is always near, nurturing and caring, preserving and protecting, providing comfort and contentment.
Another metaphor that helps us understand what it means to be His people is the contented picture of a baby or young child in the presence of Mother and Father. When a child is alone or feels abandoned he is terrified; when wrapped in a loving family circle he feels secure. This is what it feels like when God calls us His people. Everything that we are able to idealize about tended sheep and cared for children is really true for the people of God. The ideal is real.