I was reading through the book of Hosea in the Scriptures today. He was one of the minor Old Testament prophets that was called to a unique way of revealing God’s heart to the people. He is told by God to marry a woman who will continually cheat on him. Yet, he is told to stay faithful to her through all the humiliation. She is utterly selfish with no regard for his feelings. It is a deeply moving story.
It’s not always at the top of our minds, as we go through our days, how God feels about us and how what we do impacts his heart. We may acknowledge or consider that he loves us, even though we cannot possibly comprehend what that means. Love is a word we use so frequently to express any number of pleasures we might experience. After a while, like so many words, it loses some of its true meaning.
But, the book of Hosea reveals a heart that feels the deep grief of being forgotten. When all that exists in this world was formed to be a beautiful playground of mutual love, given and received, disintegrates into a jungle of selfish consumption, the playground becomes a battlefield. We see the husband’s hand being slapped away in favor of another’s touch, running from the promised provision of a trustworthy lover to the mystery of the secret places of counterfeit hopes. This is the story of humanity in retreat from the Hand that lovingly shaped our souls.
Yet, as in this book, God doesn’t divorce us. If I were God I would have smashed the whole thing and started all over again. But that’s because I don’t understand love of his magnitude. I don’t know what it’s like to design a world of monumental beauty. I don’t know what it’s like to breathe life into a soul from a heart of utter joy. It is complicated though. We are not without consequences. The secret places have turned out to be dungeons of disappointment. The mysteries were all smoke and mirrors. The other lover’s touch, rough and calloused.
But, the Forgotten One still loves us. His hand still wears the ring of his love, the promise of his faithfulness. He has formed a new way back to his playground, a new start. He sent his Son to cover over all of our unfaithful shame. He calls out for us to return. He wants to forgive. He wants to reconcile. His heart is on his sleeve…He says, come…He is gentle and his heart is humble and he will give rest to your soul. Come…
“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation… “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:19-21 NLT
