The other week I was sitting in a church service in Mexico. The speaker was Brother Franco. If you know Brother Franco you know that (A) he speaks in Spanish and (B) he is long winded. So needless to say he couldn’t keep my attention. I know I would only understand about one in every 30 words if I did pay attention. Maybe 1 in every 27. Maybe.
To kill the time I opened up the ole Bible and started reading. I read the story of Hosea and his wife Gomer. It’s found in the book of Hosea, if you didn’t know. To me it’s one of the best stories of forgiveness and it also involves a woman of ill repute. It starts out with Hosea, just a man trying to follow God. God tells Hosea to marry Gomer. Gomer didn’t have the best reputation in town. You see, Gomer was what we would call a hooker, a lady of the night, prostitute, trick-turner. Get it? But despite her past and her reputation, God still wanted Hosea to do this.
I have no idea what Hosea must have been thinking. Was he worried that his own name would be ruined? What would everyone else think of him? It’d be like God telling Rick Warren to marry a stripper. Imagine how many Christians would shun Rick. I know one thing though; I bet Hosea was a little intimidated on their wedding night. You ever been around someone who was a pro at something and you’re just no where near their level? A bit of overwhelming, I guess.
Fast forward. Gomer gets pregnant. God had told Hosea that some of Gomer’s children wouldn’t be his. Boy, I bet that feeling had to suck. They really didn’t have the Maury Povich show back then so there was no way of telling who the baby’s daddy was. But God wanted Hosea to stay committed to his family despite the extracurricular activities his wife had. Later it mentions something about Gomer no longer belonging to Hosea. I really don’t know how that happened. God then tells Hosea to buy her back. And Hosea did.
This whole story is meant to be an illustration of God’s love for His people. I am Gomer in this story and God is Hosea. I have put many things in front of my relationship with God. I have cheated on Him. I have been like the prostitute Gomer many times in my life; selling my devotion to things that in the end don’t matter. I bet you have too. We’ve all wandered before. But yet He is still there. He still wants a relationship with us. Sometimes I just don’t understand His devotion to us. Shouldn’t He be fed up with us by now? But He’s not. I only hope I can commit more of my life to Him, piece by piece, day by day. And I pray the same for you.
