22 August 2025
As it also says in Hosea, I will call Not My People, My People, and she who is Unloved, Beloved. And it will be in the place where they were told, You are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.
God’s mercy is not bound by borders or bloodlines. He takes those once rejected and calls them His own. Paul reaches back to Hosea to show that God’s heart beats for outsiders. “I will call Not My People, My People, and she who is Unloved, Beloved.” Mark said, “The unloved become the beloved. The outsiders become insiders. God delights to make rebels His children.”
This is the wonder of adoption. Once we were far off, cut off from hope. Yet God did not leave us there. He spoke a new name over us. Paul says, “In the place where they were told, You are not my people, there they will be called sons of the living God.” Mark explained, “The gospel is God’s declaration that the disowned are now His. The forsaken are family. The unloved are beloved.” Grace rewrites the story.
Identity in this world is fragile. Work defines you by success. Society defines you by wealth. Even family can define you by performance. But God gives you a truer name. He says, You are mine. Mark pressed this point: “Your worth is not in your work. Your identity is not in your effort. Your value is in God’s voice that calls you beloved.” That voice silences the lies of culture and calms the fears of the heart.
At home and at work, people often feel overlooked. A colleague sits ignored. A wife feels unseen. A child longs for affirmation. Today, reflect God’s adopting mercy in your relationships. Look one person in the eye and say, “I am glad you are mine.” In this simple act you echo the Father’s love. You show that grace makes strangers family and the unloved beloved.
Rejoice. You are beloved of God. Not because you earned it. Not because you proved it. But because He chose to call you His own.
Discussion Question:
How does being called “Beloved” by God reshape your sense of identity in a world that measures worth by performance?
Prayer:
Father, thank You for calling me beloved. Teach me to live in that identity and to reflect it to others. Amen.
Read the sermon notes here.
Watch the sermon here.
This devotional content is not penned by the preacher. It is derived from the sermon notes. We aim to provide bite-sized reflections throughout the week for devotion and reflection.