Love Restores Us

02/24/23 • 1 min

What is true love? The question has been asked forever. Not everyone agrees. There's a startling answer found in the Bible. The prophet Hosea marries a prostitute named Gomer. She's predictably unfaithful to him, but God tells him something that's strange to us. He told Hosea to take his wife back and restore her.

1 Corinthians 13:4–5 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not proud. It doesn't dishonor others, it's not self-seeking, it's not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs.”

How often does this world seem interested in redeeming anything? Rarely. That's why we need God to model perfect love for us, love that restores and heals. Hosea did not keep score. He only loved, and that's a picture of how God deals with us, his chief creation. We reject him, cause pain, but always he's there waiting with open arms. I think we can do at least as much for someone in our lives.

Let's pray.

Lord, you're a forgiving God. Thank you for loving us in our sin, in our filth. You long to restore us and we love you for that, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord, you're a forgiving God. Thank you for loving us in our sin, in our filth. You long to restore us and we love you for that, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Previous Episode

Loving Forgiveness

Kyle hurt Jenny emotionally many times, and then he left her because he said he wanted to have fun in life. His young wife could barely function at first, but as she got her bearings, she decided to wait before making a final decision about her marriage.

Then the day came. A series of circumstances left Kyle broken in spirit, and in body. He had burned so many bridges, no one was coming to help him.

Except Jenny.

1 Corinthians 13:4–5 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

Jenny made a choice to love her husband through his stupidity and poor choices. When he returned to their home, humiliated in his community, he came home to a warm place.

Today, through dedication and hard work, their marriage is a model for others to follow, and this husband has been transformed.

All because his wife’s love didn’t give in to hard feelings.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we all mess up, sometimes horribly. But you always extend us grace. Help us extend that same grace to those who hurt us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Next Episode

The Pressure of Daily Life

Billy Joel says that his hit song, “Pressure” really is about the pressures of daily life: providing for your family, putting food on the table, and career obstacles.

Even the way he sings the song, with power and anger, makes the point. It’s quite a statement on life.

And we’ve all felt it.

2 Corinthians 1:8 says, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.”

But as believers, we can take heart in the fact that Paul then writes that difficulties happen in life so that we will rely only on God. The apostle reminds us that God has delivered us from desperate times, and will again.

What a powerful promise!

The pressures of life sometimes come suddenly, leaving us off-balance and fearful. When that happens, remind yourself of the promises of God’s Word. He knows where you are and where you’re going.

He’ll be waiting for you when you get there.

Let’s pray.

Lord, sometimes we feel like we’re going to explode. We thank you that you never abandon us, and are always ready to protect us and preserve us. In Jesus’ name, amen.