How Much Does God Love Us?

Hosea 1:2: “When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: / ‘Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry / And children of harlotry, / For the land has committed great harlotry / By departing from the LORD.'”

The prophet Hosea lived during the reign of one of the worst northern kings to ever rule God’s people, Jeroboam, king of Israel. The times were economically good, and, as is often the case, the people forgot the Lord and were easily led far from Him into idol worship that centered around pagan, temple prostitution. God used Hosea to speak to the nation of Israel by asking him to marry a prostitute, who was unfaithful to him and had illegitimate children. This is such a shocking concept to many commentators, including John Calvin, that they deny that it was actually a marriage, saying, “Certainly a holy God would not direct His prophet to actually enter into a marriage relationship with a harlot.”

When we understand the times Hosea was living in and the practices of the people, we see that God was providing His people with a living parable of His relationship with them. We see in Hosea’s attitude toward His unfaithful wife, the attitude of Father God toward His unfaithful people. What an absolutely amazing picture of the mercy and love and great lengths that God will go to in order to get His people’s attention and bring them back. God’s love for us is outrageous and maybe even a little unreasonable by human standards. We would never continue to love someone who treated us the way we treat God. And although it makes no sense to us, God has declared it again and again, He loves dirty, broken sinners and goes to extreme measures to win them to Himself.

There is a story in the novel Les Misérables, written by Victor Hugo, that portrays this same heart of love. The hero, Jean Valjean, constantly gives grace to people around him because he had also received great grace. He stole from a man, but instead of exposing him to the police, the man absorbs the loss of his goods and grants Valjean his life and freedom. Many years later Valjean extends grace to a single mother, who after losing her job, becomes a prostitute to support her young daughter. Valjean finds her one night after she has been abused and beaten by men. He takes her to a safe place and cares for her. But she says to him, “You don’t understand. I’m a harlot, and my daughter has no father.” Valjean responds with amazing words of grace: “She has the Lord. He is her Father, and you are His creation. In His eyes you have never been anything but a beautiful woman.” We can only see ourselves as we are, but through God’s eyes of unconditional love, He can see us as what He wants to transform us into.

“LORD, we ask that You would make us and mold us into what You want us to be this day, in Jesus name.”