On Sunday, I finished reading a book that spoke to me at my very core. The book, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, is a recreation of the story of Hosea and Gomer from the Bible. Set in the 1800s, the book chronicles the life of a prostitute-turned-farmer’s wife, and the struggles she faces in loving herself, forgiving herself, and accepting love from anyone.
As soon I finished the book, I wanted to share it with the world! This book brought me face to face with the answer to every why. Why do I continually seek to please God? Why do I do hard things, radical things even, in order to please God? Why do I spend so much of my time and efforts making sure I’m right with God? Why do I adhere so closely to His word? Why do I care so much about every single command?
My God is truly the supreme, almighty, amazing God of the universe. By His hands everything was made. With His voice, light and life and hope were born. He created all that we know and more than we know, and though we strayed from Him, He paid a steep price – His Son – to buy us back.
I am so very sinful. My adherence to God’s commands, my upholding His truths as absolute, my speaking out against things that He says stay away from…these things are not done because I am perfect. I don’t speak out against abominations because I am the picture of absolute righteous and holiness. Instead, I recognize that I am weak and frail and imperfect. I realize that I have strayed so long and so far from my God; that I have hurt Him and used Him and discarded Him more times than I’d like to admit. My sin has been so much, in so many different ways, that at times I have felt choked by it. Drowning in it. Buried beneath it. And in those moments – those miserably unclean, wretched moments that I’ve found myself in – God has rescued me and delivered me and washed me.
Today, I am whole. I am purified by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. I am not perfect, by any means, but His blood continues to wash me as I strive to walk with Him and like Him (1 John 1:7) THAT is why I speak out against sin. That is why I beg those around me to let go of Satan’s grasp and run without restraint toward the Father. That is why I write blogs, post scriptures, and ask others to identify sin in their lives. Because I know what sin does – where it takes you, how it hurts you, and the scars that it leaves. I know where sin will take you – to an inescapable, fiery darkness that lasts for eternity. I also know that I don’t want to be there, and I don’t have to be, because God pulled me from the wreckage. He holds me in the hallow of His hand and nothing can snatch me from there. And that’s where you can be. If you will give your life to the Lord – fully give it, withholding nothing – you can be set free. You can be made new. You can know that heaven awaits, where you will be with your God forever.
There is nothing this life has to offer that is worth missing heaven. Nothing. Whatever struggle we will go through in this life on our pursuit of righteousness and holiness, it is but “momentary, light affliction” (2 Cor. 4:17). It may seem consuming. It may seem impossibly big and impossible to overcome, but with God, all things are possible. In Christ, we can do all things. Conquer all sin. Overcome the wicked one.
Whatever is plaguing you, whatever is holding you back, give it up. Seek God, and He will be found. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Submit to His commands, and He will save you from wrath and darkness and hurt and tears. You will still have to suffer, but this suffering will have purpose, because if anyone suffers as a Christian, “let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this matter (1 Peter 4:16).”
Our God is an awesome God. Though we forsake Him, He delivers. Though we shake our fists at Him, He forgives. Though we run after our own lusts, He welcomes us back. Though we fall short, He erases our past and propels us to a brighter future. Don’t let your own self get in the way of this amazing grace. Fear God and keep His commandments. This is our all. This is our why.
