One of my all-time favourite piece of Christian fiction is ‘Redeeming Love’ by Francine Rivers. It’s a beautiful re-telling of the story of Hosea who went to great lengths to love his persistently unfaithful wife, Gomer. Gomer tested that man – kai! 🙂
Beyond being a beautiful and intriguing narrative, their problematic marriage was a metaphor for the relationship between us and God. Like Gomer, we are born God-hating and always looking for opportunities to bolt as far away from Him as possible, but God throughout the ages (like Hosea), has always reached out to us to rescue us. In a recent post, I talked about this relentless pursuit of God as the Hound of Heaven.
Think about it, even though the stench of Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins warranted their destruction, God still found a way to redeem Lot’s family before razing the city to the ground.
Like Hosea, God has unconditional love for you and me even when we are unfaithful and stray away from Him.
He is that Good Shepherd who will ALWAYS leave the ninety-nine in search of the one missing sheep.
He is that Good Father who stands miles off with outstretched arms, waiting to catch a glimpse of his prodigal son returning home.
His love for you and I is UNCONDITIONAL, if you doubt it, just hang out at the Cross for a while.
So today, we’ll thank God for that relentless and redeeming love that reaches out to us and welcomes us back home after a miserable spell in the far country of sin.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Father, thank You for Your redeeming love that relentlessly chases after me time and time again. Thank You Lord for not giving up on me!
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Unvarnished 