Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

Hosea.

Probably one of the most overlooked books in the scriptures; but the Word of God is living, and this past week my eyes have been opened to the beauty of these few short chapters. I think Hosea 1 can speak for itself.

"When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, 'Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.' So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim..." and later talking about Israel, "Then, at the place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' it will be said, 'You are children of the living God...In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—'My people.' And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.'"

Sometimes I have a hard time viewing God as someone who pursues me with a perfect love. It's much easier for me to think of Him as the God who creates worlds and spins galaxies into existence rather than the passionate lover. I'm not sure if this difficulty comes from a well-justified feeling of unworthiness or whether the limits of my imagination are set conservatively in that respect. The Father has a lot to teach me in this area, and has begun to unfold some beautiful truths over the past few days.

Just imagine Hosea acting on God's instruction. Imagine the poor guy walking through the bad part of town, looking for the one God had chosen as His prophet's bride. What did he say to her first as she turned away in shame from this holy man of God? "Excuse me, God told me to marry the sickest whore I could find on the street and marry her. You're the one ma'am." Imagine Hosea awkwardly standing in front of the Rabbi by his bride, his reputation ruined, and himself half disgusted or half doubtling God's call all together. Think of Gomer, hesitating every step as the women in the town turned their sour faces from the disgraced couple and the men frowning over lusting eyes. I wonder how many questions filled their minds as they posed for one of the most breathtaking portraits of God's love He ever painted.

This week, God has been revealing a passionate love that goes beyond the deepest understanding. The grand paradox, if you will, of the Creator of the Universe debasing himself to win over His unworthy creation to the love of the ages. A love that wants hold our hand as we run barefoot through tall grass in the subtle rays of an early sunrise. A love that transforms us from the whore on the street into a radiant and innocent virgin. A love that makes us cry as we lie in bed at night for the beauty of life. A love that calls us to be both reckless and reverent. A love that knows who we are and pursues us in spite of it. A love that will climb trees and make shapes out of clouds with us on a summer afternoon.

I know that that was a bit of a sermon, but hey, it's Sunday

Cammy - good luck on the Italian exam tomorrow,

McK