Read Hosea 1 here.
There are very few things that we value more than our relationships. Relationships require us to trust beyond comfort and to make ourselves emotionally vulnerable beyond security. When a relationship is given a firm foundation of trust, and security to flourish, we will treasure the result more than most things. These relationships become the closest to home that we will ever find, anchoring us when all other things show signs of weakness. However, nothing quite compares to the pain when these relationships strain, weaken and eventually break. The pain of broken trust and safety is something that many people never recover from. The two things that most often fracture these relationships are indifference and unfaithfulness. The experience of one’s trust and love not being reciprocated has the power to completely break a once unstoppable heart. The experience of trust and love being set aside for the pursuit of another love can empty a heart once so abundantly full of endless love ready to be given. Yet the love of the creator God has extended far beyond our love for one another. The love of the Creator has broken the bonds of time that so constrict our human relationships. The creator God has experienced an ongoing cycle of broken “ideal relationships,” yet has continued to pursue the ones he loves. His love, for all intents and purposes, is “crazy” and “illogical,” beyond our ability to comprehend or duplicate. But this is the gift: love we all seek, but only God can provide.