Romans 9

I will call them "my people" who are not my people,

and I will call her "my loved one" who is not my loved one.

Romans 9 is a tough chapter.  It's difficult to work through what exactly Paul is saying about Israel, the Church, and above all, God's character as displayed in his actions.  On the one hand, God will have mercy on whom he has mercy, and will harden whom he chooses to harden.  On the other hand, God will gather people that have not been identified as his people, and give them a new identity--he is the one who will call them his own people.

This morning as I read through this chapter, I think the thing that struck me most was that in all my theology classes and bible classes whenever this chapter would get referenced (which was a lot), I don't have a single memory of anyone discussing the verse I quoted above.  Why are we more interested in what exactly "Esau have I hated" means than we are in figuring out what "I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one" means?

How is the Church to understand her mission in light of this? How am I to understand my own placement within God's community, and the tasks that I have been called to?

My prayer for this moring is that I would allow the surprising generosity of God to form me, and to reach into all the world through the people of his Church to reach people that look nothing like them.