Forgiving Love

I hope that this week’s blog finds each of you continuing in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. This week our article is a short one I found in our church’s Christian Monthly. It reminds us of the unchanging love that God had for Israel, (all His people). Do we know someone that has been unfaithful to their spouse, to the church, to all that God would want them to be? We are to still treat them with ever caring love, trying to reach out to them to restore them to the faith. Yes, we understand that this will not always be successful, because the heart of the wayward must be repentant and be willing to change. However, this does not change our responsibility in the matter, nor how we are to behave toward the wayward or backsliding.

I hope you enjoy the short article below, and hopefully it will prompt us to read God’s Holy Word even more! May God Bless your week! John

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee
unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness,
and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and
thou shalt know the Lord. Hosea 2:19-20
Hosea is a tender prophet with a very sad matrimonial
experience, which was designed of God to set forth Israel’s
relationship to Himself and their unfaithfulness to the covenant
He had made with them. Hosea’s wife proved untrue to all her
vows and became a poor characterless slave. Yet the prophet
sought her out, redeemed her, and took her to himself in
forgiving love, only to have his heart broken by her continued
waywardness. It sets forth graphically not only God’s unchanging
love for Israel, His earthly people, but it pictures vividly His
grace toward the individual soul. He is Redeemer, Restorer,
and unfailing Friend, whose loving-kindness exceeds our worst
offenses and whose forgiveness is extended to every repentant
sinner, no matter how dark and shameful the record may be.
H. A. Ironside