Day 31 - And Then, There’s This...

And Then, There’s This...

“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely...”
Hosea 14:4(a)

A few months ago, we spent some time studying through the book of Hosea, and what we found there blew us away. We learned how Hosea told the entire nation of Israel that they needed to rethink their relationship with God. Up until that point, the relationship was along the lines of “I am your God; you are my people.” After Hosea, the relationship was more along the lines of “I am your Lover and I want you, Israel, for myself.” Prior to this, no one had dared to speak of God in those terms.

Scot McKnight says: “YHWH loves Israel the way a husband is to love his wife. Israel is to love YHWH with the same kind of love.” Hosea suggested to Israel that God had become heartsick over their unfaithfulness—much like a husband would feel over unfaithfulness in his wife. But in his heartsickness, YHWH pleaded with Israel to come back to him. We learned from Hosea that God loves his people. He loves them with a sacred love.

So when the Jesus Creed calls us to love God with everything we are—heart, soul, mind, and strength—we are called to form a love relationship with God that is totally sacred.

The term Abba is a personal and familiar form of “father” that implies the relationship of a much-loved child to their much-loved parent (see Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6). That’s the word that Jesus uses in the verses we are calling the Jesus Creed. That concept of Abba intensifies the significance of love. When we can put it together enough to understand our love for God as sacred and that he loves us with a sacred love, we come to want to honor that love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

That sacred love impacts every single thing we do and say. This love transforms our lives and calls for our “all” of everything. This sacred love becomes evident in our speech, our actions, and our worship. It embodies Love First.

Your Mission
Every time a negative thought comes to mind, or a negative word or deed arises, make yourself recite Hosea 14:4a.