“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10, ESV)
This verse takes us back to the Old Testament Book of Hosea. In this book, God tells Hosea to take a prostitute named Gomer as a wife. She lives unfaithful to him but bears him three children. One child was named “Jezreel,” another was named “No Mercy,” and a third was named “Not My People.”
It is a strange story to our modern ears. But the names of the children pointed to the consequence of the continued unfaithfulness of God’s people. As Gomer had lived unfaithful to Hosea, so the people of Israel lived unfaithfully to their God.
But grace enters in. God shows mercy where mercy is not deserved. He offers mercy and makes the people his own. It is not their doing but is God’s doing.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ (Hosea 2:23, ESV)
It is easy to pride ourselves and to think that God owes us. We think God is obligated to us because we attend church, serve on a ministry board, pray to him, or faithfully put an offering in the collection plate. But for every place we can point to our faithfulness, he can point to our unfaithfulness.
You will sometimes hear an evangelist say that you need to make a decision for Christ. It as if we need to do this big and mighty thing to make God our God. The reality is that God has already made a decision for you. God is already your God. It’s not about your decision. It was God’s decision. God is your God whether you choose him or not. He chose you when he sent Jesus for you.
What is at stake is if you will receive the free gift of God’s mercy. Will you receive his gift of salvation in Jesus? It’s not about what you can do for your God. It’s about what your God what has done for you.
Our cry is: “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”
Reflection
- Where has God shown you mercy in your life?
- What does it mean to you that you do not choose God, but God chose you?
Prayer
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Amen.
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