Real Hope: Redemption StorySample

The Wayward Child

READ HOSEA 11:1–4

So many parents suffer much anguish because their children or grandchildren have wandered off on destructive paths. On occasions it all gets too much and the rebellious offspring are left to their own devices. The blood ties remain, but there is no true connection.

We cannot imagine the pain felt by our Creator who loves all He has made and yet is spurned by most of them. We may think He would be justified in giving humankind up as a bold experiment gone wrong. Maybe turn His back on humanity and simply get on with sustaining the whole universe. But He didn’t do this. The God who came looking for His disobedient children in the Garden of Eden, continues to come looking for His disobedient children in subsequent generations. He raised up leaders like Abraham and Moses, Samuel and David, to point people back to Himself. And He addressed His people through His human spokesmen, the prophets. At times, these prophets angrily denounced the rebellious people. God was angry at them too. But this was not the whole picture. Our reading from Hosea today speaks of a tender-hearted God who stoops down to His people to care for them and protect them. In this, He resembles a human parent longing for a wayward child to get back on track. There is righteous anger, there is stern rebuke. But there is also ongoing love – a love that will not let go no matter how much pain and hurt is involved.

It’s a mistake to imagine God as an ultra-efficient cosmic CEO. He certainly holds the universe together, but at the same time holds out His hand to those who are reluctant to take it. They might turn their back on God, but He doesn’t turn His back on them.

Written by DAVID REAY