The Hardest Call
Read Hosea 1:1-11.
I honestly don't know where some teachers and preachers get the idea that God only calls us to easy things, to "blessings" (which usually translates to "material prosperity") or to "health and wealth." Whenever I hear that sort of idea, I have to wonder if they've ever really read the Bible. God's call is, quite honestly, rarely to easy places or situations. Isaiah was called to preach to people whom he knew would not listen (God told him they would not listen!). Jeremiah was called to witness the fall and destruction of his people. God does not allow Ezekiel to mourn the death of his wife. Abram (later Abraham) was called to leave behind everything and everyone he knew to go to a land God would show him (and with no GPS!). Jesus was sent to die a horrible and painful death. Every one of the apostles died a cruel death except John.
And then there's Hosea. His call may be the hardest. Try preaching this passage on Mother's Day! "Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her" (1:2). Other translations say Gomer was a prostitute, and we know from the story that she didn't leave that life behind just because Hosea married her at God's command. Gomer went back to being a prostitute, to the point where she ended up in incredible debt and had to be sold as a slave. Can you imagine the heartbreak Hosea still carried in his heart when he stood there and bought his wife back from slavery? And this is God's easy call?
Hosea, of course, was called to live out a parable. His life was a living witness of what Israel, the nation, was going through, the way they were acting toward God. They, too, were prostitutes—to other gods. They had given themselves over to loving idols. It seems the only way God can get their attention is through Hosea's life. And his children. Did you catch their names? Jezreel (the name of the valley where God would punish his people), "Not Loved" and "Not My People." Can you imagine calling your child "Not Loved"? Symbolic names, to be sure, but not an easy way to live. I can't imagine what Hosea's family life was like.
God's call is not always easy. God's call is not often easy. But what the prophets and apostles both testify to is that there is nothing better than being in the center of God's calling on your life...even when it's hard. Remember the description of Aslan, the Christ figure, in the Narnia book series: "He's not tame, but he's good." God's call is not easy, but it's good.
I honestly don't know where some teachers and preachers get the idea that God only calls us to easy things, to "blessings" (which usually translates to "material prosperity") or to "health and wealth." Whenever I hear that sort of idea, I have to wonder if they've ever really read the Bible. God's call is, quite honestly, rarely to easy places or situations. Isaiah was called to preach to people whom he knew would not listen (God told him they would not listen!). Jeremiah was called to witness the fall and destruction of his people. God does not allow Ezekiel to mourn the death of his wife. Abram (later Abraham) was called to leave behind everything and everyone he knew to go to a land God would show him (and with no GPS!). Jesus was sent to die a horrible and painful death. Every one of the apostles died a cruel death except John.
And then there's Hosea. His call may be the hardest. Try preaching this passage on Mother's Day! "Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her" (1:2). Other translations say Gomer was a prostitute, and we know from the story that she didn't leave that life behind just because Hosea married her at God's command. Gomer went back to being a prostitute, to the point where she ended up in incredible debt and had to be sold as a slave. Can you imagine the heartbreak Hosea still carried in his heart when he stood there and bought his wife back from slavery? And this is God's easy call?
Hosea, of course, was called to live out a parable. His life was a living witness of what Israel, the nation, was going through, the way they were acting toward God. They, too, were prostitutes—to other gods. They had given themselves over to loving idols. It seems the only way God can get their attention is through Hosea's life. And his children. Did you catch their names? Jezreel (the name of the valley where God would punish his people), "Not Loved" and "Not My People." Can you imagine calling your child "Not Loved"? Symbolic names, to be sure, but not an easy way to live. I can't imagine what Hosea's family life was like.
God's call is not always easy. God's call is not often easy. But what the prophets and apostles both testify to is that there is nothing better than being in the center of God's calling on your life...even when it's hard. Remember the description of Aslan, the Christ figure, in the Narnia book series: "He's not tame, but he's good." God's call is not easy, but it's good.
So very true!
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