Jenny sat holding her stomach in
pain on the edge of the bed. With her head still spinning from
the drugs she took and tears streaming down her eyes, she tries
to piece together a few thoughts. Just a few thoughts. Where was
she? Who was she? Why was she back in this same story-line again?
Why can’t she break free?
She looks back over her shoulder at a man lying there asleep. A
man who doesn’t love or even care about her. He was just
like the last one, and the one before. The next one would most
likely be the same...or would he?
Jenny forced herself to her feet. “I can’t
change!” the music blared, “Lord knows, I can’t
change!” She staggers to the balcony, trembling. With all
her strength, she pulls herself onto the ledge. Music pounding,
wind blowing, she wishes for the courage to just let go. Why
can’t she just let go? Why can’t she just let the
worthless, empty chaos end?
Suddenly she knows why, if even just for an instant. Her mind
flashes to the one who once loved her. All he wanted was for her
to love him back. He would never hurt her. He would never run out
when she needed him. He would never use her and just throw her
out like to morning garbage. If only she could go back to him.
She looks down forever into the busy street, realizing the place
she had come to. Still shaking, she manages to control herself
just enough to step down to the balcony and drops into a chair,
sobbing.
The one who once loved her still does. He sits thinking about her
day and night. He sends letters, only to have them returned,
unopened. He does all he can to reach out, but knows that it is
ultimately her decision. So he waits.
“When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said
to him, ‘Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children
of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest
adultery in departing from the Lord.’” (Hosea 1:2)
So Hosea
married an adulterous woman. They had three children together. He
loved her. He loved her, even though she hurt him. He loved her,
though she loved others (and there were
others). He stuck with her until she left him. Even then, his
love did not falter. Though his heart ached with unspeakable
pain, he went on loving her.
This is not just a story of one couple’s marital woes. It is
a vivid illustration of God’s never-ending love for us. We
are His bride, yet we sell ourselves to whoever else would bid.
We go on day after day searching for something better, something
to fill the empty spot inside. Not finding it in one affair, we
search for in the next, and the next after that. Before long, we
find ourselves sold as a prostitute for that immortal pimp called
Lucifer, and we couldn’t come back on our own if we tried.
“I will plant her for myself in the land. I will show love
to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to
those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my
people’; and they will say, ’You are my
God.’” (Hosea 2:23)
“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show 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.’
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer
and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, ‘You are to live
with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate
with any man, and I will live with you.’” (Hosea 3:1-3)
Did you catch that wonderful prophesy? Hosea paid the price for
his wife to be reconciled to him. He bought her out of her
prostitution. God has done the same for us. Only, the cost of our
reconciliation was the life of His Son.
Do you feel like Hosea’s wife? Or maybe you feel like Jenny
in “Forest Gump.” If you’ve found yourself a slave
to an endless search for fulfillment, take heart in the fact that
your one true love is waiting for you to come back home. Come
back to Him and find the love you’ve been looking for.
There was a knock at the door. As she opened it up, Jenny found
her true love there again. This time, though, she was ready.
“I’m sick,” she admitted, “and can’t
find the cure.”
“Come stay with me,” he replied, “I’ll take
care of you.”
