You may be familiar with the Old Testament story of Hosea and Gomer. Hosea was a prophet whom God instructed to marry a prostitute. The faithful and obedient prophet did as the Lord instructed. He married Gomer and they had three children. However, Gomer left Hosea to return to her former life. Hosea had to purchase his wife back so she could live with him again. The story is a picture of God’s faithfulness and relentless love.
I’ve often felt bad for Hosea. Surely his marriage was not the one he would have chosen for himself. I’ve also admired his unyielding obedience and willingness to be used by God. Before we get too wrapped up in the character of Hosea, though, we must remember he represents God in the story. It is Hosea’s prostitute wife who represents God’s people. We are all unfaithful. We are all Gomer.
Every time we do something against God, we are like a cheating spouse, betraying the love of the One who loves us most. Each sinful look, thought, and word proves our unfaithfulness. Over and over again, we walk away from the One who is providing us with unconditional love so we can go and prostitute ourselves with the world. What’s wrong with us? Do we not realize the pain we inflict on the holy and righteous God?
When someone is unfaithful in marriage, the relationship rarely recovers. It is the ultimate insult. Broken trust is perhaps the hardest thing in the world to repair. The intimacy of the marriage bed is to be kept sacred. Almost everything can be forgiven but adultery. And yet we are continually committing adultery against God.
We must recognize the gravity of our unfaithfulness. Every sin is akin to cheating on God. We promise Him our love and devotion, but that promise means almost nothing to us. Sins, both small and large, are committed and quickly forgotten with little concern for the pain we are causing for our Creator King. This life is not about our selfish desires and pursuits of pleasure. As followers of Jesus, our first and only purpose is to love and glorify Him. It was for this He created us. It is for this we must live.
We don’t like to think of ourselves as unfaithful. It’s an ugly word without a single positive connotation. Why is it we are diligent in being faithful in our earthly marriages but so quick to be unfaithful in our relationship with the almighty God?
The first thing we must recognize is the absolute horror of sin. It’s not just an “oops”. Sinning is the most horrific act we can ever do. It is saying to God, “I don’t care how much You love me. I could not care less to live how You command me to live.” This is what sin is. We’ve lost the horror and weight of the word. Unless and until we hold a right view of sin, we will never be the men and women God created us to be.
Don’t be unfaithful to God. Understand the devastation sin causes in your life and relationship with our Lord and Savior. He loves us with an unconditional love we will never fathom. He deserves our faithfulness and our best at every moment.