Redeeming Love

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I got a novel written by one of my favourite authors as a Christmas gift, and I only started reading it two days ago (hides), and I can’t put it down. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I had heard so much about this book, and I have read a number of her books (each amazingly fascinating) but none of it could have prepared me for this. I can’t even describe it, you just have to read in order to fathom its awesomeness.

In this novel, Francine uniquely retells the story of the prophet Hosea and his prostitute wife Gomer. What I find so hard to grasp in this retelling of the story is the manner in which Michael Hosea loves his prostitute wife, it baffles me. He literally defines unconditional love. Michael Hosea brought her back to life after she indirectly tried to kill herself by marrying her on her deathbed and taking care of her until she got back on her feet. She refused to let him love her, refused to change and threatened to leave, which she eventually did. She slept with his brother in law and returned to her old life. He pursued her, found her with a customer, beat him up and took her home. Crazy, right? Here’s a bit of what he said to her on the way back:
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m as human as the next man. I feel all right. I feel plenty right now, a lot I wish I didn’t.” He shook his head, his face strained with hurt and anger. “I felt like killing you when I walked in that room, but I didn’t. I feel like beating sense into you right now, but I won’t.” He looked at her with dark eyes. “and no matter how much it hurts, and no matter how much I feel like hurting you back for what you’ve done, I’m not going to.”

My initial reaction: there’s a fine line between being Christian and being plain stupid; Michael’s sight is hindered. But then I quickly thought of a verse I read in the very book of Hosea, a verse that brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?...My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.” Hosea 11:8
In this chapter, God declares his unfailing love for Israel after chapters and chapter of speaking about Israel’s sin and unrepentant character.

We have this false idea that loving people is supposed to be easy, that the people we love won’t necessarily hurt us. We claim to love them unconditionally, but truth is, we only love them as long as they are what we think they are and do what we like them to do. Our love for them is based on their performance. And by saying this, I am in no way condoning the abuse of one party in the relationship in the name of love. Remember the fine line?
I’m just putting it out there that unconditional love says without failing that ‘there is absolutely nothing you can do to make me stop loving you.’ Some days it screams it so loud the whole world hears, and sometimes, it’s just a whisper under your breath…but never does it stop, “Love never fails”. I think the reason we struggle to love unconditionally is because we’re accustomed to loving on condition from the very beginning. If there’s nothing I did to gain your love, then it’s a given that there’s nothing I can do to lose it; saint or aint (as Jackie would say), you just love me.

It seems a little too much to expect from a human huh? Only God can love us like that, right? Well it’s a principle that God does things for us in order for us to do unto others as he has done unto us…remember the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18? Oh well, let me get back to my reading...I’ll close with one of my favourite Bible phrase:
“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Cor. 13:7 (NLT)

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