How Great the Father's Love for Us!

Love the Lord your God, and love one another. Love one another as He loves. Love with strength and purpose and passion and no matter what comes against you. Don’t weaken. Stand against the darkness, and love. That’s the way back into Eden. That’s the way back to life.

There are few things in life I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate more than Christian fiction. As far as I can tell, it all stems back to sixth grade, when I read some Christian romance novel by Janette Oke. Or maybe it was Beverly Lewis. Or Karen Kingsbury. Whichever the case, it makes no difference; they are all the same. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. I don’t remember if I even made it all the way through the book, to be honest. All I recall was thinking this was the cheesiest, most ridiculously stupid thing I’d ever read. And so I’ve avoided the genre altogether ever since, with the minor exception of The List last year, which I highly recommend.

I’d heard about this book, Redeeming Love, from numerous people. I’d seen it listed on plenty of Facebook profiles under ‘Favorite Books,’ but I never really knew anything about it. It wasn’t until my trip to Colorado about a month ago that I really felt impressed to go buy it and read it. I went to Mardel and searched and searched, finally having to ask for assistance. Low and behold, it was not in the ‘Christian Living’ section as I’d assumed, but in none other than the dreaded ‘Christian Fiction/Romance.’ I sighed inwardly. I had some serious second thoughts going on. But in the end, I bought the book, not really knowing what to expect.

Of all the scenarios I could have pictured, I certainly never thought myself to be sitting up at 1:30 in the morning during the middle of the week, bawling my eyes out so hard I was shaking as I finished the novel – about a week after I started it. Oh, did I mention it’s some 460+ pages? God knew I needed that.

I think the difference with this particular Christian fiction novel is that it isn’t just some obnoxious, made-up love story with a bunch of cheesy God stuff packed in there. The story is actually based off of a book of the Bible, Hosea. And as Francine Rivers put it, “Everything in Redeeming Love was a gift from the Lord: plot, characters, theme. None of it is mine to claim.” And that made all the difference.

The parallel between how this man married a known prostitute, continuing to love her and pursue her no matter how awful she treated him or how many times she ran away back to her former life, and how God loves us completely and unconditionally no matter how many times we throw it all in His face and try to do things without Him after all He’s given us brought me to my knees. The picture of how God relentlessly and ever so gently pursues us with His love, waiting for us to open our eyes and see what is right in front of our faces brought tears to my eyes. The fact that I’ve been given a love like this, and yet, somehow I still manage to so often find myself seeking after my former bondage broke my heart. God’s grace for us is beyond comprehension, His love beyond measure.

This story is so great, so timeless. The character of Angel pierces right to the heart of all of humanity. No, all of our stories may not be so extreme; most of us weren’t sold into prostitution as a child or anything like that. But yet, every single one of us can relate to this character. Every single one of us has felt some form of rejection, loneliness, despair, betrayal, unworthiness. And every single one of us, whether we know it or not, is offered the same Power to overcome, the same unconditional Love, despite our past. And further still, how many times do we walk away from that Love, determined to find a way on our own?

I love what Francine Rivers says about why she wrote this book. I feel a certain connection with her words. “Too many have awakened one day to discover they are in bondage, and they have no idea how to escape. It is for people such as these that I wrote Redeeming Love – people who fight, as I did, to be their own gods, only to find in the end that they are lost, desperate, and terribly alone. I want to bring the truth to those trapped in lies and darkness, to tell them that God is there, He is real, and He loves them – no matter what.” I, too, have fought to be my own god, harder than most anyone even knows. I dug myself deeper and deeper, turning my back on God, thinking that if I only worked hard enough and long enough, I would make it on my own. And as Rivers said, in the end, I most assuredly found myself to be lost, desperate, and terribly alone. That’s the darkest place I’ve been in my whole life. But praise God He sees my past, and CHOOSES to love me just the same! It is only by His grace that I am where I am today. And I am eternally indebted to His endless love that keeps bringing me back every time I run, because Lord knows I do.

I love knowing there’s a bigger picture beyond my circumstances, beyond my pain. Sometimes I can’t wait to be old, just so I can look back on my life and see how every single detail, even the difficulties and hurt and frustrations, were shaping and molding me and creating a beautiful tapestry, a masterpiece. I will spend my life pursuing and trying to understand this perfect Love that pursued me and continually makes beauty out of my messes.

May your roots go down deep in the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.

Ephesians 3:17-19