Redeeming Love A bible-based romance novel, telling the love story of Hosea and Gomer from the bible (Both names are Michael and Angel in the novel). As some of us might have known about this love story in the bible, Hosea is a prophet who was waiting for the love of his life that God has promised him. But little did he know that his future wife was a very beautiful harlot (prostitute). Their love story is no ordinary, it is full of taking risks and being courageous in love.
Reflecting back on my friend, Magnus' article He Chose Risk, What About You?, he says for love to be love, it requires choices. If you don't give a person the choice to reject you, then it is not love, it is slavery. Slavery was overwhelming Angel when she was being a harlot, it was difficult for her to believe any man has genuine feelings towards her without any intention to hurt her to satisfy their lust. Michael had to crack his brain to convey his genuine feelings towards Angel without hurting her, without breaking her fragile trust.
Michael eventually was able to rescue Angel out from her living hell and asked her to marry him despite her past. Michael was taking a very big risk in loving Angel because there was no guarantee that she would reciprocate his love and leave her past life altogether. At that time, for Angel, Michael was her only ticket out from her controlling pimp, she didn't agree to marry him out of love. Even after being married, Angel still couldn't bring herself to trust Michael completely. She always had a hidden agenda, constantly finding ways to escape from Michael, not because he treated her badly but because Angel was not used to being treated well, not being taken advantage of and most of all, she was afraid to fall in love. All her life, she was being mistreated by people around her, she has never felt loved by anyone. Her new life with Michael was so new that she didn't know what to feel and how to respond, all of us are afraid of the things we don't know, and that is what Angel felt during then. True enough, Angel did leave Michael, thrice. Michael went for her the first two times, but decided not to the third time.
Throughout their love story, Michael displayed a great deal of courage, each time he chose to love Angel for who she was. He was being very gracious and patient, waiting for Angel to be able to reciprocate his love. He went for her the first two times, even though he was furious when he realised that Angel couldn't understand his sincere love and chose to go back to her previous life, he rescued her yet again from it but never once did he condemn her. He gave her all the time she needed to absorb the overwhelming love that she had not known before. He gave her choices.
The third time Angel left, she was also taking a risk herself. She had known by then that Michael's feelings towards her were real and she had started to fall for him as well, she had come to a point whereby she wanted the best for him, and she didn't think "best for Michael" would be herself. She ran away again but this time she mustered the courage to resist the temptation to go back to her previous life to make a living, instead, she went somewhere else, trying to start a new life all by herself. She was away for three years and during those time God used her and her past to help and heal women who were like who she was once. After some time, words came to her that in all those three years of her absence, Michael was still waiting for her faithfully. Moved by his undying love and faithfulness, Angel decided to go back to Michael, this time to submit to him as a how a wife should do so towards her husband.
Michael and Angel's or rather, Hosea and Gomer's love story depicts the Lord's undying love towards the children of Israel and the rest of us too. The Lord gives us free will to love, and that includes the free will to or not to love Him, He wanted a genuine relationship with us even though we are His creations and He could have designed us to love Him and not have any other choice. But He didn't, He gave us choices. Children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and had grieved the Lord time and again, but the Lord still loves them forgivingly and accepts them lovingly when they came back to Him.
Hosea 14:1 "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God..."
May you be blessed by the Lord's redeeming love.
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