Reading through the Bible each year brings me to passages and stories that I would definitely not go to otherwise. Today, while reading in Hosea, I saw something about our God that stopped me in my tracks.

We may tend to think of God as distant or far above us, but our relationship with Him is very personal to Him. In Hosea we get a sense of just how much the Israelites had broken His heart with this vivid picture/analogy. Israel is the “mother” in this picture and God is the “Father”.

“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, or she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.” (Hosea 2:2 NIV)

God takes the most intimate of relationships to show Israel how far they had gone. Their idolatry is compared to prostitution. They had sold themselves to the highest bidder and left God watching from a distance.

It’s very personal. God wants a relationship with us. He has done everything for us, and yet, we too sometimes turn our backs on Him for our own selfish reasons.

Here’s the really amazing thing about Hosea’s little book. He not only paints a vivid picture of Israel’s adultery, he shows God’s plan to win her back.

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” (Hosea 2:14 NIV)

God continues to this day to reach out to each of us, lovingly calling us back to Him.

It’s very personal. That’s why God will not give up on YOU.