2月14日
标 题： 冷酷的爱
经 节： 耶和华对我说：“你再去爱一个淫妇，就是她情人所爱的；好像以色列人，虽然偏向别神，喜爱葡萄饼，耶和华还是爱他们。”（何西阿书三章1节）
没有一个人能够理解神对祂儿女的爱！人类有限的爱阻碍我们了解神无条件的爱。我们可以由何西阿的一生，大致了解这种爱。何西阿是义人，但是神要他去爱一个淫妇。何西阿顺服神，娶了歌篾为妻。他珍惜她、尊重她。歌篾从未体验过这种爱，不久她愈来愈不满足，开始迷上其他男人。最后，她整个人沉溺于淫乱，甚至抛弃了何西阿。然而，其他男人根本是利用她。当情夫厌倦她，就把她卖掉作奴隶。此时，神给何西阿一个意想不到的命令，就是“去把她赎回”。何西阿承受歌篾加诸于他身上的伤害，虽然如此痛切，神仍要何西阿宽恕她，付任何代价赎回她。神的信息十分清楚：当我们拒绝祂、移情别恋，我们的拒绝所带来的痛苦，和淫乱背弃所带来的痛苦，是一样的。在神为我们付出一切之后，我们对祂的背弃是很难令人理解的。但即使我们拒绝、忽视、悖逆祂，神仍然爱我们，这种爱更难令人了解。神的爱完全与我们不同。祂的爱伴随着我们，直到我们从邪恶的渊薮中被拯救出来。当我们远离祂，祂的爱仍然毫不减少，祂紧紧地跟着我们。祂的爱是何等长阔高深﹗
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!
