Need for Forgiveness

A few lasting thoughts on Hosea as I recently finished it. For one, a couple verses in chapter 11 really blew me away. A consistent theme in the prophets is God’s judgment; the idea is that because Israel sinned they should be punished. But Hosea is entirely different, especially 11: 8-10. Sorry for the chunk of scripture but it’s good. “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart has changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. They will follow the Lord.” That’s some pretty heavy stuff and a great way to wrap up my posts on Hosea. The one thing that sticks out in my mind from that verse is the image of a father talking to his son/daughter after they did something wrong. My dad has given me many “talks” over the years and they all follow the same pattern “You did something wrong, you should be punished, but don’t forget – I still love you.” Or better yet, a father talking to a son who ran away “You hurt me, but most of all you scared me, I still love you.” Sin separates us from God; it is the devil’s perversion of the good that God has made. When we sin we take a step away from God to “go our own way.” More than anything this hurts God, who isn’t hurt by the painful sting of rejection, especially from a close friend or lover? Forgiveness isn’t just God’s way of saying “all clear” it’s much more than that, it tears down the walls we built with our sin. By being forgiven we are allowed into the presence of God once again which is an even sweeter gift than being let off the hook. Some more thoughts on forgiveness as it is applicable to our own lives: just like forgiveness allows us to enjoy a relationship with God when we forgive others it allows us to enjoy a relationship with them. There are quite a few people who I used to not forgive for what they did to me in the past, to tell you the truth I was the one missing out not them. By not forgiving you shut the person out of your life forever, through forgiveness you tear down the walls built between you to enjoy a cordial relationship.