Amazing Love

Day 194: Hosea 9-14

What's interesting to me about the story of Hosea and Gomer is that Hosea married Gomer knowing that she would be unfaithful. God told her that she would become an adulterer, that she would have affairs, that she would have relationships with many different men. And yet Hosea still married her. Did you process that? Hosea still married her, knowing she would cheat on him and have other lovers. He still did it. He still married her. Wow. How stupid is that? Would you marry someone that you knew would cheat on you? Would be unfaithful to you? I wouldn't.

But Hosea did.

And God did, too. God loved us, he chose us, he "married" us to him, all the while knowing that we would sin, that we would have other gods, that we would have other lovers besides Him. He still loved us and chose us. In spite of our unfaithfulness to him. Wow.

I'm not going to say that God is stupid. No way is he stupid! On the contrary, he's AMAZING. That he did that for us. That He sacrificed his own self-interests and loved us instead. He is truly AMAZING. And Hosea was pretty amazing, too. He married and loved Gomer in spite of her flaws and eventually she finds redemption. She commits to Hosea and remains faithful to us.

This story is a wonderful parallel to our relationship with God. We have been redeemed by the love of God. The blood of Jesus bought our salvation. And how amazing is that!