Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. Hosea 14:4 (NLT)
Redeeming Love – Part 2
In this passage, Hosea prophecies over the ancient nation of Israel. Whenever we come across God speaking of Israel, He’s not really talking of a literal place, but more like a nation of people; a family or a tribe.
And through the lineage of Abraham and the sacrifice of Jesus, you and I belong to that tribe. So when God is speaking of it, actually He is speaking of us all.
What’s so awesome is it doesn’t matter how dysfunctional your family is, you now have a bloodline steeped in forgiveness. Redeemed by an unfailing love… and if His love doesn’t fail, it means that it doesn’t matter if you do.
I love this part of 2 Timothy 2:
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
God cannot and will not deny who He really is, which is a loving and forgiving Father. One that will go to extreme measures to have you back in His tribe and part of His family.
It reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son, in Luke 15, which has before it, two other parables about lost stuff: the sheep and the coin. These parables hold a truth and tell a story of who we really are in the eyes of God. We're one of His flock, part of His wealth and considered His beloved children.
The power in God’s redemptive love is shown in the way He reframes our identity. It ensures that whatever societal standing or family we come from we can now claim a royal bloodline; a heritage of divinity that has nothing to do with anything we've done. However, it does depend wholly on who He is, which is love. (1 John 4:8)
No matter who you are or how your earthly heritage (sin nature) has held you back, just like the prodigal son, run back into His arms of love.
They’re running toward you and wide open anyway. Ready to heal and redeem. No longer identifying you as lost, but as found.
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