There’s an old saying that goes, “You can’t go home.” Whoever said that was wrong. That person assumed that people could not change. CS Lewis put it this way: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

I’m going to tell you a story and I want you to know that the ending is beautiful. This story is for the girl who made mistakes, the girl who wandered from her first faith, the girl who thinks she can never regain the faith she once had. Because you can always come home to your heavenly Father’s arms. It’s never too late to change.

There was a preacher in Israel named Hosea. Back then, these preachers would hear the literal voice of God (sometimes in person, sometimes through dreams or visions) and their job was to proclaim God’s truth to the people of Israel. Here’s how his ministry started in Hosea 1:2-3:

The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

The first thing Hosea had to do when he got into the ministry was marry a prostitute. Can you imagine a boy you know feeling like he’s called to be a full time preacher, he goes to Bible college, graduates, starts his first day as a pastor at a local church and the very first thing he decides to do is marry a prostitute? As ridiculous as that sounds, that is exactly what God asked of Hosea. God had a very specific message He wanted His people to hear about love and choices and He knew that the people needed to see a very real, physical showing of God’s message. 

Not much is said right here about Gomer’s background. We know she had a dad, we know she was a prostitute, but we know very little about how she ended up that way. We know that adultery at this time was punishable by death: we see this in the law in Leviticus 20:1 where it says, “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

So Hosea  marries this harlot, Gomer. Then they have three kids. Somewhere along the way, Gomer chooses to return to her prostitution that Hosea brought her out from. Hosea, obviously upset over her unfaithfulness, sends the children to their mom saying, “Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.” If you read that as if it were just him calmly saying these things, I want you to go back and read it again. Picture a couple fighting over one of them cheating on the other: imagine Hosea screaming in rage at his kids over his wife. Now go read what he said again.

Hosea’s first reaction at finding out his wife that he brought out of prostitution has willingly chosen to return to that lifestyle is normal. He has every right to destroy this woman according to God’s law. He finds himself questioning whether their three kids are even his. How long has Gomer been hiding this? Why would she go back?

We find in vs. 5, “for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.” The finer things of life could not be found at a preacher’s house in Israel. Gomer was not satisfied and she went back searching. We find in God’s comparison of Hosea and Gomer’s story that He says, “For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer […]” Maybe it was going to be one time. Maybe she was just going to go back to see some old friends. Maybe it was just a flirtation at first. Maybe she felt a hole inside her: a void that simply could not be filled. Maybe she thought change would fill that black hole she knew was inside her. God yearned to bring her home.

Hosea finds out that his wife is to be sold. “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.”

Can you imagine what Hosea’s reaction must have been? After what he had yelled at his kids to go tell his wife, can you imagine what Hosea must have thought when he realized what God wanted him to do? After Hosea had rescued this prostitute the first time, and she chose to go back to that life and leave Hosea, God wanted him not only to go rescue her again but to love her??

But he did. “So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley.” Hosea gives all his money and then starts bargaining the rest of his cost for her. He buys back the woman that was already his in the first place. And he doesn’t yell at her or curse at her or have her put to death for her treason against his heart. He follows God’s example with Israel from chapter 2,

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

He loved her. After all she willingly chose to do selfishly and pridefully against him. Hosea loved Gomer. And we never see again that she ever left him.

My sweet girl, I want you to know this:  if Hosea can love Gomer that way and if God can love Israel that way, then Jesus can you love you that way, too.

So, what is it? Have you been trying to fill that void with things? With sex? With proud thoughts? With friends? If you fake a laugh enough, will it be real? If you force yourself to pretend you’re happy where you’re at doing the things you’ve been doing with the people you’ve been doing things with, all the time knowing that the greatest Saviour, the most incredible Lover of all time is just waiting for you to choose him, to choose holiness, to choose joy, how will you ever experience His love for you?

Let go of the things. Let go of the self-reliance. Let go of needing to feel sexy. Christ paid such a high price for your heart: will you really waste your life not loving Him?

There’s no permanent satisfaction in sin. There’s always punishment, there’s always heartache, there’s always a piece of you that will be dying inside if you are a Christian. When Christians willingly step away from the God they love, He lets them go. He will never force someone to stay. But then, when your’re buried in the muck and the grime and you’re surrounded by people who don’t care about you and you’re being sold off to who knows where, look for Him. He’ll be right there no matter what you’ve done to hurt Him. He always, always, always, wants you to come back. 

James 4:8 tells us, Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” If you will simply choose to be single-minded towards loving Him with your habits and heart, and thereby draw nearer to God, He will respond with love and draw near to you. You’ll finally have that void filled with the satisfaction of His love. You’ll finally feel peace — total peace. He’s calling for you: He’s searching for you. Won’t you answer?

Come home.

Love, Meghan