Redeeming Love

Why is it so hard to trust and obey God? So often we are faced with choices. Why is He so forgiving? We fail Him daily but He lets us return. Why does He love us so much, yet we deny Him so easily? Regardless of how much we turn our back on God, He continues to seek us out and love us.

I recently read a book about love. What a powerful thing it is- understandably as everyone seeks it, and needs it in their very own way. The novel inspired by the book of Hosea, “Redeeming Love” is a story about the journey of a man and a woman, their lives, and how God chose them-complete opposites to be life partners. This book paints the idea of love in such a real way. The book speaks of it at its core, and the way God loves us.

The main characters in this book were most intriguing. The woman in the book carried many names depending on her situation, but most commonly used the name Angel. Angel was scorned right from the beginning. She was sold into prostitution as a child and quickly learned that her cynicism and pain would be all that she had. Because of this, Angel would learn that love is something that could be used against her. She became cold, callus, and lost. On the other hand, Michael Hosea, was a farmer. He was a respected man with not only integrity, but a gentleness and assertiveness that all would notice. Michael was a spiritual man and relied on God in everything that he did. He spoke to Him often. Michael epitomized what it was to obey, trust, and follow.

The story challenged and tied down my thoughts. God spoke to this farmer one day as he caught glimpse of this woman for the first time. At first sight, with never a word-exchanged prior, he knew he was to marry this woman. This event really hits me as it shows the faith and trust that he carries. His character is continually challenged as he pursues her. I mean-he finds out that she is a prostitute and he still trusts and obeys God. Can you imagine you walking the streets of Baltimore and feeling the divine calling that God has revealed your future spouse, to find out that they make a living selling their body? The way that Michael continues to obey God and truly love her from day one was clearly amazing. What surprised me, was that even with his uncommon persistence, she continued to be cold, callus, and heartless toward his every action. This didn’t stop him. I had a hard time grasping this. I guess because in my dealing with relationships, communication is near the top of the list. She was not giving an inch. So eventually over time and some unfortunate events Michael married Angel to rescue her. Sadly things didn’t get easier for either of the two. The marriage was everything but glamorous. Michael had a lot of work on his hands. Angel, was struggling with so much and couldn’t shake her past. And about the time he was making headway, she decides leave him. She not only leaves him but she picks up where she left off, before her marriage- going back to her sin. Can you imagine? The way Michael dealt with this situation was unreal. I remember the day I found out that my ex took everything we had and muddied it up. It can tear a person apart. And she wasn’t even my wife. Michael had to be torn, again- so hard to imagine. Angel, could still not shake her past, she felt alone, distant, and empty. Finally, a neighboring family comes into the mix that helped grow and encourage her. Despite the closeness that she started to have, the urge to leave again grew stronger. She did not want to let anyone have an edge on her, and she found out quickly that it was too late. Once when she thought love was not relevant, the impossible happened. She was intoxicated by even the thought of her husband. Life for the two of them was really going well. She had come along way since her days where Michael had rescued her. But still she was constantly trying find a reason to get out, and her barrenness and sense of inadequacy was enough. This is when she left again. Picture yourself finally getting over some of the mess that seemed to clear up, to have it happen again. Your wife leaves you, again. Michael’s faith and trust during the whole ordeal was something. Angel on the other hand, still had a lot to work out. She was not interested in what God had to say. Much time had past, first Michael was told to pursue, now he was told to let go. Talk about amazing strength, obedience, and trust. It was about this time that Angel then was forced to face her demons. Her past bounded her and tied her up. Though this time, she saw things through different eyes. She was starting to hear things and voices better, and by the grace of God she was saved and broken free of this bondage. For years she lived with a christian family and this is where she found her faith. Through this time she knew she was to give back, so now she was helping others like her, face their fears.

The end of novel was like most story-book endings, where they-live-happily-ever-after. But that wasn’t what was so appealing or even made it a complete book. It was the journey and seasons where these two people were pulled in different directions to finally find one another. One loved from the beginning, pursuing and forgiving. The other defied, abandoned, and didn’t trust. I wrote a brief recap of the story for a reason. It is pretty clear that this story was a paradigm of our lives and our relationship with Christ. It really hits home to replace the characters and get a sense of Christ’s character. Christ spots all of us and sees our beauty. He continually pursues us, regardless of where we are. Our sin and defiance makes us all soiled doves. He is strong and always there to rescue us from our biggest fears, and even from ourselves. We so easily return to our sin and commonly find ourselves running away from God. He loves us unyieldingly even when we betray and abandon Him. He does feel pain when we hurt Him, and turn away. We feel as though we are not worthy and can’t bear Him any fruit. Even when we fail Him the most, He is waiting with His arms wide open.

I thought the book ended well. Angel, returns to Michael after three years. She sees him and goes to him. Keep in mind, Michael didn’t stop working or hide out in sorrow all those years. He lived on, as Christ does with us. She approached him and stripped away all her layers and past, standing there, revealing herself - humbled before the one she left. And then he clothed her. There is something liberating by this scene, as it is like us coming to Christ, shedding the things He sees through anyways, but showing Him, repenting, and standing there, free.