The greatest lesson I have learned from being a father is understanding God’s love. When my children make mistakes, I might feel very angry and even punish them, but I have never thought of abandoning them because I still love them deeply.
Isn’t it the same with God towards sinners in the world? From God’s words to the prophet Hosea, we can see His love for the rebellious Israelites. “The LORD said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.'” (Hosea 3:1)
God Still Loves Them
In the book of Hosea, chapter 1, Prophet Hosea, following God’s command, marries the prostitute Gomer. After Gomer bore children, she left Hosea and returned to her old way. However, in chapter 3, God instructed Hosea to take her back again to demonstrate that “God still loves them (the Israelites).”
Even though the Israelites turned their backs on God, He still loved them. Likewise, in this increasingly corrupt world, God’s love remains unchanged. Before people came to know God, He already loved them; when people went astray like lost sheep, God still loved them. When people were still sinning and falling short of God’s glory, He didn’t stop loving them. This love is tolerant, endless, and sacrificial, so much that God was willing to give His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be crucified for the sins of the world so that those who believe in Him may have eternal life.
I Must Also Love Them
Understanding God’s will, Hosea used fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley to redeem Gomer (Hosea 3:2). At that time, fifteen shekels of silver were equivalent to half the price of a servant, and about a homer and a lethek of barley equaled fifteen shekels. According to interpreters, Hosea likely didn’t have enough silver, so he used barley to make up the ransom. Redeeming Gomer and taking her back was no easy task. However, he obeyed God’s will, willing to pay a high price to redeem his wife and, through his actions, demonstrate God’s love to the Israelites.
We may not be prophets like Hosea, nor are we called to marry a “Gomer,” but we all have the mission to spread the good news of God’s love. As Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). We are to let those who do not know God, those who are lost, and those who are sinful know that God wants them to repent because “God still loves them.”
I remember that a year after we began our missions in Japan, my wife received a voice message from an elder in the family. She said that because of the harm Japan caused during World War II, she did not like Japan and believed the Japanese deserved to die. She also did not agree with us coming to Japan for missionary work. However, the amazing thing is that within a year, God changed her view of Japan. She finally told me that she believed God truly loves Japan, which is why He called us to preach the Gospel to the Japanese people.
Whether it is the Israelites or the Japanese, no nation is too good that it does not need the Gospel, nor is any nation too bad to be unloved by God. God still loves them and considers them precious. So, who is the “Gomer” that God has placed in your heart for you to show His love through your actions?
