2月14日

標　　題： 冷酷的愛

經　　節： 耶和華對我說：「你再去愛一個淫婦，就是她情人所愛的；好像以色列人，雖然偏向別神，喜愛葡萄餅，耶和華還是愛他們。」（何西阿書三章1節）

沒有一個人能夠理解神對祂兒女的愛！人類有限的愛阻礙我們瞭解神無條件的愛。我們可以由何西阿的一生，大致瞭解這種愛。何西阿是義人，但是神要他去愛一個淫婦。何西阿順服神，娶了歌篾為妻。他珍惜她、尊重她。歌篾從未體驗過這種愛，不久她愈來愈不滿足，開始迷上其他男人。最後，她整個人沉溺於淫亂，甚至拋棄了何西阿。然而，其他男人根本是利用她。當情夫厭倦她，就把她賣掉作奴隸。此時，神給何西阿一個意想不到的命令，就是「去把她贖回」。何西阿承受歌篾加諸於他身上的傷害，雖然如此痛切，神仍要何西阿寬恕她，付任何代價贖回她。神的信息十分清楚：當我們拒絕祂、移情別戀，我們的拒絕所帶來的痛苦，和淫亂背棄所帶來的痛苦，是一樣的。在神為我們付出一切之後，我們對祂的背棄是很難令人理解的。但即使我們拒絕、忽視、悖逆祂，神仍然愛我們，這種愛更難令人瞭解。神的愛完全與我們不同。祂的愛伴隨著我們，直到我們從邪惡的淵藪中被拯救出來。當我們遠離祂，祂的愛仍然毫不減少，祂緊緊地跟著我們。祂的愛是何等長闊高深﹗

Relentless Love

Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans." (Hosea 3:1)

No human can comprehend God’s love for His children! Our limited experience of human love hinders us from understanding God’s unconditional love for us. We can see a picture of this love in the life of Hosea.

Hosea was a righteous man, but God told him to marry a sinful woman. Hosea obeyed and took Gomer as his wife. He cherished her and treated her with dignity and respect. Never before had Gomer experienced this kind of love, but she soon grew dissatisfied. She began giving her affections to other men. She became so involved in adulterous pursuits that finally she abandoned Hosea altogether. Other men used her until she had nothing left to give. Then they sold her into slavery. After this, God gave Hosea an amazing command: “Go and buy her back.” Despite the intense pain and hurt that Gomer had inflicted on him, God told Hosea to forgive her and to pay any price to bring her back into his home.

God’s message is clear: When we reject Him and turn our devotion elsewhere, our rejection carries the same pain as an adulterous betrayal. After all God has done for us, it is incomprehensible that we should reject Him. It is even harder to fathom that God could love us even after we have rejected, ignored, and disobeyed Him. Yet God’s love is completely different from ours. His love follows us to the depths of our sinfulness until He has reclaimed us. His love is undaunted when we run from Him, and He continues to pursue us. What incredible love He has demonstrated to us!