What does the Bible say about being strangers to God?

According to 1 Peter 2:10, we were once not a people, estranged from God, but now have become His people through His mercy. This transformation is essential to understanding our relationship with God; it highlights the grace that shifts us from being outside of His family to being counted among His children. In Ephesians 2:12-13, it is explained that before knowing Christ, we were without hope and without God in the world, but in His mercy, we have been brought near through the blood of Christ.