love. just four letters, 1 syllable, yet a word that holds extreme value. it’s taken me my entire life up to this point to realize that my definition of love was distorted. ever since I was little I remember dreaming of getting married one day, of having a prince charming of my very own. every sleepover with my friends would entail us talking about the cutest boy at school trying to plan ways to even be in the same room as him. a seemingly innocent dream eventually turned into shame for me. I would constantly wonder why boys weren’t interested in me. was it my personality? my looks? I pondered and pondered all throughout middle school, high school, college, and even on the race a bit until my squad mentor told me to read the book of Hosea. it was through that book that Abba revealed to me a brand new side of Himself.
God is my perfect husband, and I am His bride.
when the Lord gave me this revelation it literally blew my mind in every way, how can God, the Lord of the universe/my perfect savior/my best friend/my perfect parent also be my perfect husband?
here’s some backstory on the book of Hosea: Hosea represents the Lord & his unfaithful wife Gomer represents the Israelites. the story tells how God chases after the Israelites over & over again no matter how unfaithful they are to Him. as I studied the history of the book before reading it, this point alone really got me thinking. how many times have I walked away from Abba & turned against Him for something of this world? how many times have I chose the lesser way? how many times have I rejected His love?
‘”Then the Lord said to me, “Go again: show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other Gods…” Hosea 3:1
this is said directly after Gomer/Israel’s unfaithfulness is called out, but God’s heart is not to give up, but instead to restore. throughout the next few chapters the Lord continues to call out the idolization and promiscuity that is so evident within the hearts of the Israelites. God doesn’t want to bring the Israelites into a place of shame, but instead He is rebuking their behavior because He simply wants them to come back home to Him.
“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:19
all of this is out of love.
“For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6
now that is the part that really got me. the word “faithful” is defined as loyal, constant, steadfast, and devoted. the word “knowledge” or “know” brought me back to Genesis 4:1 where it says that “…Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain…” To know is to be intimate with, to be close, familiar, and personal. To be in the secret place with Abba discovering the inner most parts of Him. I see Hosea 6:6 saying that the Lord desires nothing from us besides unwavering devotion to Him & that we would desire to just be with Him in the secret place. the kind of love demonstrated here is redeeming, unwavering, forgiving, & free of charge- other than giving to Him our devotion & our whole hearts. love isn’t infatuation, it isn’t dependent on looks or “being good enough.” love is patient & kind, is not self seeking or easily angered (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). love doesn’t give up, but instead it perserveares even when we least deserve it. love is filled with grace & mercy. Abba is love (1 John 4:8), my perfect husband literally is love itself. there is no kind of earthly love that will ever satisfy & fill me up like the love of God.
all of this is just one small piece of what God has shown me about real love. i’m not going to share it all with you because I think that some of it should be kept sacred in the secret place between him & I:) i invite you into this journey with Him, He wants to show each one of you individually what real love is.
thank you Lord for your sweet sweet love for me as your bride. thank you that when you look at me all you see is purity. thank you that there is nothing that I have to do to earn this love, it’s freely given. every morning would you dance with me in celebration of our wedding ceremony, thank you that your love is constant & that it never disappears. thank you that this love is for everyone & that with your love we are whole.
thanks for reading everyone! may Abba bless this journey that He is taking each & every one of you on!
all my love,
nikki
p.s…while reading the book of Hosea, I was also reading Redeeming Love by: Francine Rivers which is a retelling of this story! it SHOOK me & you all should definately read it! it gave me an entirely new perspective on love.
