True Healing, Real Joy and Meaningful Life

Yesterday I blogged about love and the barrage and assault of the world around us preaching of it's counterfeit, a self-centered, selfish feeling the world has been led to believe is love.  This morning, I rose thinking of the book of Hosea (typically pronounced Ho-zay-uh), read it in its entirety with my heart breaking as the Jews abandoned their trust and love for God with costly ramifications.  I don't ever remember a sermon or sermon series from Hosea, and for many this book in the Bible can be seen as the 'downer' it is, tragic that a man would be commanded by God to marry a woman who would be unfaithful, walking away from the blessing of being married to a good man, providing greatly for this woman who is undeserving of such grace and mercy, unappreciative of real love, seeking the counterfeit, having probably illegitimate children as result, with Hosea remaining faithful to her.  Wow. 

In the middle of the book, God speaks of His provision for her in time of blessing, through Hosea as He honors his faithfulness to Gomer (Hosea's wife), but she failed to see that the time, though brief, of blessing and real love was not of Hosea, but from God Himself, for her, and she wanders away into the hollow search for what she perceived real love, selfish pleasure, and there were consequences as she walked away from God.  Not because He wanted to strip her of goodness and mercy, but rather because of His justice, as a means to woo her return, because God loves her, and Hosea as well.

My faith in God is not blind, nor based on empty hope.  It is not a bunch of rules, but a yearning to know what is real, what is true.  My desire is that I find a way to live as one who makes a difference in humanity for humanity with those I love, and I have found life not to be a seeking personal riches or that those who speak of me might call me a 'good man'.  I believe God exists because I see His hand, His work, His character, the fact of His existence as I mature in life.  While many run to and are tempted by the false love which satisfies an empty, self-centeredness, I have discovered wealth in understanding God's heart, His work, His faithfulness to His children who turn away from selfish ambition and pleasure, discovering beauty and pleasure far beyond anything the counterfeit love provides. 

Sure, it is hard to read a book like Hosea, and, to me, it parallels the plight of America's walking away from the God who blessed our nation as we followed Him in inception, but when I do, it is my wake up call.  My blessing does not come at the hands of my government, our nations leaders or even by the wonderful wife I have, and she is such wonderful blessing.  Our blessing falls from the hand of our LORD, the one true God who loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine or deserve, for we are the harlot when we are disobedient.  The consequence of our disobedience, just like the consequences of any loving mother or father guides and demonstrated deep love for their children is intended to redeem and raise upright and selfless citizens bearing true and meaningful love for one another, imitating and acting like God, like Hosea. 

The book ends with one final volley, 

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
        whoever is discerning, let him know them;
    for the ways of the LORD are right,
        and the upright walk in them,
        but transgressors stumble in them.
(Hosea 14:9 ESV)

I have stumbled plenty in life.  I have walked in disobedience, but as I listen, hear and pursue truth and real love, I have discovered that it is found in God, not in man.  It is not a set of rules, not religion, but is found in the one who can love an unfaithful person so much that He clearly shows us the way to real joy and love, a redemption from our wanderings towards real healing, real joy, real living.  Have you really tried God?  Not religion.  Not just the quest to be good.  Not the association of those who call themselves better than others, but rather those who know they are a harlot, a whore and wandered, but remembering the time of blessing as they walked with God, return to that time of relationship with the being whose desire is to bless us and lead us in a way that is true, selfless love, clearly demonstrated by He who is faithful to us in spite of our unfaithfulness.  I believe we can find true healing, real joy and meaningful life when we understand the real sacrifice God offers us through His son, Jesus, and the entirety of the scriptures, Himself.