You Belong
“Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.'” – Hosea 1:10-15
“Blogs are little First Amendment machines,” said Jay Rosen. Most of us like the first amendment but are not sure about limitless points of view and expression of same. Some of us even wonder if there are just too many people, too much huffing and puffing, too much talk about too little.
The children of Israel knew very little about blogging or social media or populations exploding and tipping. Not one of them had email or a Facebook account. But they did know what it meant to not belong. To wonder if you were just another immeasurable, innumerable, isolate of sand, tramped on by the big people, too small to not fail in a world where some other things are too big to fail.
The prophet Hosea consoles them and us. You do belong. You do matter. You are a child of the living God. Your people will thrive. You will go on. God notices you. You belong. Now that is consolation.
Prayer
O God, when we are oppressed by just how small we are, enter our insignificance with a sense of place and belonging and hope. Count us in. Amen.
About the AuthorDonna Schaper is Senior Minister at Judson Memorial Church in New York City. Her latest book is Prayers for People Who Say They Can’t Pray.