Week of May 13, 2022

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.” Hosea 3:1(NKJV).

We can’t really comprehend God’s love for His children. Our limited human love hinders us from fully understanding God’s unconditional love for us. We have an example of this love from the life of a man in the Old Testament. His name was Hosea.

Hosea was a righteous man, but God told him to marry a sinful woman. He obliged and took Gomer as his wife. He loved her and treated her with dignity and respect. Never before had Gomer experienced this kind of love, but she grew dissatisfied. She began giving her affections to other men and she abandoned Hosea. After these other men used her up they then sold her into slavery. It was at that point that God gave Hosea a command: “Go and buy her back.” Despite the hurt that Gomer inflicted on him, God told Hosea to forgive her and use his hard earned money to buy her back and return her back to his home.

God’s message is clear: When we reject Him and turn our devotion from Him, our rejection is like chasing after other lovers. After all God has done, we still at times, go astray. It is even harder to fathom that God would love us after we have rejected and ignored Him. God’s love is completely different from ours. His love will follow us into our betrayal until He has reclaimed us. His love is not discouraged when we run from Him. Thank you, Lord, for the incredible love that you have demonstrated to us.

God Bless, Pastor Rick