Redeeming Love

If you've never read the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. You have to. You just do. Trust me. I got it from awesome Meagan on Sunday and finished it this morning. That's the quickest I've read a book in a long time, and I just couldn't manage to put it down. It helps that Hosea is my favorite book of the bible and it's tattooed on my foot.

The book is helping me finally get it. Lately I've been struggling with the question of how could God love me after I've turned my back and deliberately sinned and closed my ears and my heart to Him so many times. How can He still look at me with love and adoration when I haven't been able to do anything right for Him? And even if it's true that He still loves me like that, why can't I find the strength to fix things? Why can't I control myself and get my act together?

He does love me without condition, and He always will. No matter how many times I turn away or fail, He will pull me back. But that doesn't mean I can stick to my crappy patterns that I've made for myself. The only time I will ever receive the freedom I need is after I surrender everything back to Him. When I finally learn how to understand Hosea 2:14 and let Him lead me back to the beginning and call me out of my mistakes to something better, I'll get that freedom.

Easier said than done, but I like it.