I recall the biblical story of a man of God named Hosea who loved an evil, undeserving wife. He had a tragic marriage. He got married to Gomer - a cultic prostitute. Gomer was an unfaithful, deceptive woman. Gomer sank into worse adultery and slavery (Hosea 3:2). She left Hosea for a life of sin. Yet God still instructed Hosea to love Gomer (cf. 3:1). Two lessons we can learn from the book of Hosea: one on sin and the other on God's unending love. There it is as plain as it can be, Hosea 14:1 presents God's lesson on sin: "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall." The other lesson from Hosea is God's love for His people. Though sin separates us from God, His love remains no matter what. He simply would not let us go, even when sins have broken His heart. Author-pastor Woodrow Kroll sums it up: "Now God still loved her. And Hosea still loved her, but she didn't get away with anything in her sin. " Indeed, our loving God still keeps wonderful records for the day of reckoning. At the end of Hosea's story, his wife Gomer returned and was saved even amid the prostitution, sorrow, and unfaithfulness in their situation. Here is a picture of a God whose love never quits and who longs to forgive us when we turn to Him.
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