Free to Express Hate?

 

picture used without permission from @Neubadah

How do I respond to the incidents in Charlottesville?

First, let me acknowledge some of what I don't know. 

I don't know all the people who organized the "Unite the Right" rally or those who organized the counter-protest.

I don't know who committed the violence and why they committed it.

I don't know why the "Right" feel the way they feel.

I don't know the daily struggle of those who are not the majority.

I don't know full constitutional rights endowed by our first amendment.

Most importantly, I don't know what I don't know.

Second, in a country that affords every person the right to peaceably assemble and to have unabridged free speech there need to be allowances for those who do not hold my viewpoint (however just or unjust it might be) to assemble and speak. I cannot in one sentence condemn one side for protesting while advocating for the other side to protest. While there are limits to free speech (see limits on dangerous speech), the full extent of what constitutes dangerous speech is unclear. With that in mind, assuming the correct procedures to assemble were followed, and that the intent was peaceable both the "Unite the Right" and the counter-protests were legitimate (note I did not say just or right). As Neubadah said in his tweet about the above picture, "Confederate flags, Nazi salutes, and Klansmen having their rights protected by a black police office". It is a sad irony.  

Since, the first amendment affords those who gathered the right to speak, it ALSO allows me the right to respond.

Third, my response.

I stand against a movement that seeks to dehumanize my fellow created beings.
I stand against a movement that seeks to recreate a past of white supremacy.

I stand against a movement (any movement) that seeks to instill fear, inequality and the betterment of some at the expense and exclusion of others.

BUT, I don't only want to be known of what I am against.  I want to be known for what I am for.

I stand for a world where cars are used for transport not death.

I stand for a world where all people are included and welcome.

I stand for the right of all people to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

I stand for justice and peace, but not at any cost.

I stand for the power-rich sharing power with the power-poor.

I stand for a world where love overcomes fear and hate.

You may be free to express hate, therefore, I am free to express love. 

And Love Stands Longer Than Hate.

Will you stand with me?

Hosea - Act 3

Do you know what betrayal tastes like?

Not just feels like…but tastes?

The taste of bile and adrenalin that floods your mouth as you realize the person you love has left you, broken your trust, betrayed your heart and their pledge. Do you know what betrayal tastes like?

Parents, you know a little of what I mean. You’ve given time, energy, effort and perseverance to developing those you love in your lives, and now, as these beings you call your children, come to the end of their high school or college studies they have the audacity to leave home with a joy and pleasure that feels like a betrayal!

Of course, I’m joking about that. It’s not really a betrayal, but it does hurt. It does cause grief, and sometimes, it even causes that taste of bitterness in your mouth.

But some parents know the heartache of children who walk away from them in anger and hatred, becoming estranged.

There are other people who know the depth of pain and grieve that comes from other betrayals. Like business partners, working together only to see their dream of a business venture disappear as a partner betrays a trust and breaks the deal.

And then of course, lovers, people who have committed to each other only to discover that love has been given to another, shared with someone else, maybe even others. That taste that floods you, is like a wave of emotion, a tsunami of pain and sorrow, that leaves you devastated, unable to continue or function.

I have heard stories of people unable to move from the feeling. Overwhelmed, stuck on the couch, stuck in bed, feeling numb, only for the numbness to go away and a searing pain to resume. I have heard stories of a depth of emotional pain so intense, that beyond taking your breath away, it physically debilitates you.

Do you know that sort of betrayal?

If you do, I am sorry. I am sorry that you have endured that and experienced that. I am sorry that you have had to go through that, or are going through that. It is unimaginable pain and I hope and pray you find a way to win over that grief.

Maybe as you sit here, you know the other side of that equation. You are the betrayer. You know the pain and heartache your actions have brought you and those you love. You know the taste of betrayal in a different way. My words today aren’t designed to open old wounds, or brokenness that has been healed. There is no judgment in my words, just a recognition of the pain on both sides. If you have reconciled what has happened, please, focus on the reconciliation, not the mistake.

We are continuing our series called Three Little Words – a love story between a man – Hosea, and a woman – Gomer. A love story that is a metaphor of God’s love for his people, a love story that is a metaphor of God’s love for us. As we bring our series to a close today, we will find that Hosea and Gomer know this feeling of betrayal.

In each week, we have discovered a little word, a word on which the story hinges. The story seemingly headed in one direction, spins around these little words and finds a new direction.

In week one we discovered the little word “So” which led us to the identity of being chosen.

In week two we discovered the little word “Yet” which led us to the action of being loved.

We learned that our descriptions are not our definitions and that the names we bear or are called are not obstacles to God’s love.

SO…YET…CHOSEN…LOVED.

So how will this story conclude? How will this love story end? Let’s find out.

Remember, we are using a three-step plotline from love stories to guide our time:

·       the introduction of the characters,

·       a conflict and

·       a resolution.

Tragedies resolve negatively, comedies resolve positively. Let’s see how this one resolves.

Our characters, Hosea and Gomer and their children are embroiled in conflict. Gomer and Hosea are separated. Gomer has betrayed Hosea, again it would seem. The children are gone from the story, Gomer is gone from the house. Hosea, sits alone, with His God, feeling the sting and taste of betrayal. If you know that feeling and taste, then you know what Hosea is going through right now. As the tidal waves of emotion hit him, he hears God speaking to him.

Amid this conflict, God speaks to Hosea

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites…

Hosea 3:1 (NIV)

Those are some hard words from God for Hosea.

Overcoming betrayal and welcoming someone back into relationship is a herculean task. There are some who can do it, but also many more who can’t. The reasons are many for those who can’t. It could be because of personal inability, lack of trust, avoidance of pain, sheer emotional and mental exhaustion, fear or a myriad of other reasons. For those who can make that move, it is impressive.

But this was God’s call on Hosea, a call he predicted from the beginning, a task he had shared with Hosea from the start. Hosea, in reflection and consideration, needed to respond.

Just a quick time out and a reminder: the story of Hosea and Gomer is not a story about marriage counseling or reconciliation, or how to find a spouse, or raise children. Keep in mind, while it may have similarities, it is a unique story with a very specific message – a metaphor of God’s love and relationship with His people, who were being unfaithful in their spiritual practices. While you can certainly, draw some principles and ideas for other situations, its primary purpose is the story of God’s love for his people. Ok…time in. Back to Hosea’s response to God’s request.

We don’t know the time involved, or the debate that possibly raged between Hosea and God. We don’t know the work involved to overcome the emotional onslaught of betrayal. We don’t know the pain endured or healing sought by Hosea, but we do know his response.

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Hosea 3:2 (NIV)

Hosea responds with action. He seeks out Gomer, finds her where she is, negotiates a price for her and buys her back. Gomer’s choices have caused her to be desolate.

There is speculation about what sort of desolation Gomer is experiencing. Some say she is a prostitute at a temple, trapped in a type of slavery as the last place she can find protection in her day and age, others say she is literally a slave to another household, while still others say she is in debt, caught without means to lift herself out of her poverty. Regardless of the specifics, the reality is Gomer is trapped, enslaved by her choices, their consequences and her circumstances, unable to solve the problems of her life. The image of her life is one of slavery and under control of others. It is not the image of love and connection God designed for her. She is feeling the bitter taste of her betrayal,

Gomer’s state reminds us that there is another side to betrayal. It isn’t only the betrayed person who feels the taste of betrayal. The betrayer feels something too. There are many reasons why someone might betray a loved one – weakness, greed, selfishness, brokenness, fear, the offer of something better, confusion, abuse, neglect, humiliation. We don’t know why Gomer betrayed Hosea, but those choices have left her worse off. That’s the other side to betrayal.

Betrayal hurts the betrayed and the betrayer. The betrayer experiences loss and grief too. The betrayer feels shame, guilt, fear and hopelessness. The betrayer feels overwhelmed by their own choices and the pain those choices have caused. And for Gomer, that betrayal meant a lifestyle that was far from the good life Hosea offered. For Gomer, her betrayal led to slavery.

But Hosea offers her a release from that slavery and a welcome into something else. Freedom. Hosea knows where she is, knows what she needs and is willing to do it. He seeks her out and buys her back. He not only buys her back, he offers her love and connection again. He frees her from slavery and then offers something else.

Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” 

Hosea 3:3 (NIV)

Hosea offers more than freedom from slavery. He offers her freedom for relationship.  She could have been left in slavery. She could have been left as a victim of her choices or her circumstances. She could have been discarded by Hosea for what happened. BUT He seeks her out, buys her back and restores her to relationship, and it all hinges on this little word in our passage – the word BUT.

It occurs twice actually, and it’s the same Hebrew word from the previous two weeks that we translated as “so” and “yet”. The word is “Wa” It is also translated as “but” in other contexts. It’s this tiny word, one letter in Hebrew, a single pen stroke, BUT, what a difference that pen stroke makes to our story.

We find it in verse two: “So, I bought her…” The word “so” makes sense in English. The word “but” makes sense in the plot. Gomer is lost and enslaved through no fault of Hosea, BUT, he pursues her anyway. Gomer’s life is heading in a specific direction, living with promiscuity, a person who is loved, but treated as property, defined as chosen but ignored as inferior. BUT Hosea enters and redeems her. He reminds her she is chosen, shows her she is loved and connects her back to a vital relationship. He frees her!

Here’s the interesting thing about this passage in Hosea 3 though. The entire passage begins with the same Hebrew word we translate as “so”, “yet” or “but”. In English, the chapter begins with “The Lord said…”, but in Hebrew the passage reads, “But the Lord said,…”. It is as though the entire story has led to this point and the greatest turn of all in the story hinges on this tiny word which isn’t even in English – But God…

This little word is the climactic moment in the love stories we enjoy. It is the arrival of Richard Gere to rescue Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. It is the boom box serenade from Say Anything. It is the moment in LA Story when Steve Martin’s character is asked – what would he do if his love interest were to go:

Video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weEabqAErDk

Harris: All I know is, on the day your plane was to leave, if I had the power, I would turn the winds around, I would roll in the fog, I would bring in storms, I would change the polarity of the earth so compasses couldn't work, so your plane couldn't take off.

This moment in the story, this moment in the Bible, this moment for you and for me is that dramatic moment in the love story where the story can be resolved. God knows the bitter taste of betrayal – Gomer’s betrayal, Israel’s betrayal, our betrayal. Hosea stands before her offering love once again. God stands before us offering love once again. But he not only offers love…his offering something more, something powerful, something for which our hearts and spirits yearn. God is offering freedom!

Despite the bitter taste of betrayal for God, the betrayed, and us, the betrayers, we are offered freedom. Just like Gomer is freed from slavery and freed for relationship, so we can be freed from whatever enslaves us and freed for a relationship with God.

Hosea’s words to Gomer are an invitation, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you”.

The offer is one where God promises to be faithful, and asks us to be the same. It is an offer of reconciliation, redemption, renewal, revival. No longer do we need to taste the bitterness of betrayal, no longer will God hold against us the failures of our unfaithfulness, instead he offers us a future. He offers a future of freedom.

I don’t know where you are in this love story of God and you.

Maybe you’re at the beginning and all this talk of slavery and betrayal doesn’t make sense to you. That’s ok. We hope you will keep coming back with your questions. In fact, we have a great group designed just so you can ask questions called Starting Point. The people at The Hub will help you find out more about it.

Or maybe you’re a Christian. Someone in that relationship and enjoying the benefits that it offers. That’s great. Keep enjoying it and sharing it with others.

But maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about when I talk about feeling trapped by your choices. Maybe you are here, unsure about this faith thing, because you don’t like where your life is going and you want something else. You see the direction your life is headed and you don’t like it. You want something else. You hope there is something else. You might not use the word betrayal, but as I’ve been speaking, the taste that comes to mind feels similar.

And then, maybe you are here, a Christian, or at least you thought you were one once. But something went wrong, something happened in your life that made you doubt this whole God thing. Or maybe something happened, maybe it’s something you did and you feel like Gomer feels – ashamed, guilty, fearful, weighed down by the mistakes you’ve made. And now you wonder about your life. You see the direction your life is headed and it’s like a trap and you can’t get out of it. You’ve betrayed God and you’re stuck, in chains, in slavery, to your choices.

For those people, the ones who see their lives heading in a direction they don’t want it to go I want to remind you of Hosea 3:1 – BUT GOD.

Regardless of whether it is the first time you are considering God, or if you want desperately to come back, remember, BUT GOD.

If you feel hopeless and wish for something better, yet you are certain there is no way out…BUT GOD.

If you feel trapped and convinced you have no worth or value…BUT GOD.

If you feel lost and alone without relationship or hope…BUT GOD.

If you feel angry and frustrated…BUT GOD

If you feel trapped by addiction…BUT GOD

If you feel railroaded by life…BUT GOD

BUT GOD enters and changes the direction of your life from trapped to freed. And that’s the big gift he offers you today. You might be caught in the traps of your own choices, you might feel worthless and lost, hopeless and alone, BUT GOD offers you freedom.

He will free you from that prison and free you for something better. He will free you from your failures, from your mistakes, from your deepest regrets and shame and free you for relationship, free you for love, free you for joy. He will free you from your betrayal and free you for a love relationship with him once again.

Here’s what David, a king of Israel, who lived with many failures and regrets including murder and adultery, said about the freedom God offers,

²²          God pays for each slave’s freedom;

                       no one who runs to him loses out.

Psalm 34:22 (MSG)

God has already done the work of freeing you through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this to people in the city of Galatia back in the first century.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Later, in the same chapter, but a different translation, Paul writes the following about God’s work for us.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Galatians 5:13 (MSG)

Let Freedom Ring

Hosea and Gomer model that God chooses us.

They reveal us that God loves us

They declare that God frees us.

There is something about this concept of freedom that captures our hearts and minds. From fiction to reality, we are attracted to stories of people being freed. Like that iconic moment in the movie Braveheart when William Wallace shouts freedom. Or the drum beat refrain of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; “let freedom ring”

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only there; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill in Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

ending with the words many of us know so well, “free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I am free at last”. Or the moving moment Nelson Mandela echoed those same words after the first democratic election in South Africa that finally people could, with joy loudly proclaim from the rooftops – free at last.

Or the most powerful words of all, said by Jesus himself,

“if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 (NIV)

Do you want to be free?

That is the question left for us from this series. Do you want to be free? I find it noteworthy that Hosea makes an offer to Gomer, but we never hear Gomer’s response. They disappear from the story. The rest of the book of Hosea is made up of prophetic statements. Gomer’s response is not recorded. Here’s why I think that is.

It isn’t important to our story to know what Gomer said. Because we are Gomer in the story. The question is left unanswered because we need to answer it.

Jesus has sought you out, bought you back at a price and now makes an offer of a relationship with you. He is asking you, “Do you want to be free?”

Where in your life have you drifted off course? What have you done in your life that you think is unforgiveable, irredeemable, or forcefully resistant to restoration? Where do you need a “But God…” intervention? That can happen today…But God can be faithful. But God can buy you back. But God can show love again. But God can restore you….But God can free you?

Do you want to be free?

Do you want to be free from your past?

Do you want to be free from your failures?

Do you want to be free from your regrets?

Do you want to be free from the chains enslaving you?

AND

Do you want to be free for a life with Jesus?

Do you want to be free for the joy he has for you?

Do you want to be free for the wonderful things you will do together in this world he created?

These aren’t rhetorical questions: do you want to be free?

“Do you want to be free?”

If you want to be free, I want to pray for you. First I want to pray for us together, for the times in our lives we have been betrayed and the times in our lives when we have betrayed others. Then I would like to invite us together to stand and pray a simple prayer accepted the offer of Jesus to be free.

Jesus, I accept your offer of freedom. Help me to live free.

If you want help praying that prayer, let me know.

Here’s what Paul writes to people who have accepted the offer of Jesus to be free:

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.

If you prayed that prayer, then you are free. Now use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows, that’s how freedom rings, that’s how more and more people can begin to say, free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I am free at last.

Hosea - Act 2

Have you ever heard a name and wondered just what the parents were thinking when they chose that name?

For example: Bob Geldorf and Paula Yates names their daughter Fifi Trixibelle…yeah…what were they thinking? Or Sylvester Stallone’s son – Sage Moonblood. I mean…it’s a herb – Sage! What were they thinking? Or Rob Morrow named his child Tu…as in Tu Morrow. What were they thinking? Have you ever had that sort of experience?

My wife, Ingrid, will tell you that we nearly had a name like that in our family. We have two sons, called Kevin and Connor, but had we had a daughter, I would have wanted to call her Skye! Right! It’s a lovely name…I’m just going to ignore the rest of you who are pulling that “What are you thinking face, right now!”

When it comes to naming children today, parents have many reasons. For some, it’s a family name. For others, they look for a meaning or purpose behind the name. And for many, it’s a name that sounds nice. We aren’t typically a culture that name our children after events of significance, historical purpose, or political agenda.

But that isn’t true of other cultures, and it certainly isn’t true of the culture during the time of Hosea.

If you are joining us this week for the first time in this series, we are in the middle of a series called Three Little Words. Our series is about a love story, between a man called Hosea and a woman called Gomer. It comes from a small book in the Bible called Hosea.

The book opens by telling us that Hosea’s relationship with a woman called Gomer is a metaphor for God’s relationship with His people and in a larger context, how God sees us. Gomer is described as promiscuous, but we learned last week that her description isn’t her definition. Rather, her definition is based on being chosen. In the same way, we don’t need to live under the weight of the adjectives that describe us. Instead, we can be defined by the fact that God, through Jesus, chooses us.

Now, because this is a love story, we are using the three-step plot line of love stories from the movies to help guide us. That three-step plot line begins with the introduction of the characters (we looked at that last week), the growing conflict where love is in danger (that’s this week) and then resolution of the conflict (next week).

Think about your favorite love story. They all have a conflict point. Like the time in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, when the double bet is discovered. Or perhaps it’s the double love interest in Bridget Jones’ Diary or the meddlesome father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. There’s the marriage breakup in The Story of Us and the incredible involved but insanely popular love story of Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. All good love stories have conflict where love is in danger.

This week, we will be thrown into the conflict of the love story between Hosea and Gomer. We called this series, Three Little Words because in each section of the story we find that the story hinges on a little word…three weeks…three little words – words that can change the story, words that can change our story.

We left our love birds last week with them getting married. Here’s what happens next.

“So, he married Gomer…and she conceived and bore him a son (called) Jezreel.”

Hosea 1:3 (NIV).

The love birds are quite literally in a honeymoon phase. In love, married, growing in their work and growing their family with the birth of a child – a stereotypical family.

In a few short verses, we are told that Gomer gives birth to two more children.

Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter (called) Lo Ruhamah. ⁸After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. ⁹ (called) Lo-Ammi”.

Hosea 1:6, 8

The names of the children were chosen with purpose and significance and are part of the story. Buried within the birth of these children is a conflict…a relationship ending conflict. Let’s explore these children’s names a little closer.

The First Child - Jezreel

Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵ In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.” 

 Hosea 1:4 (NIV)

Ok, wait a moment. I wanted to call my daughter Skye and my wife vetoed it faster than a Yankee fan leaving Fenway Park after bad mouthing the Red Sox! I would have loved to see Gomer’s face after Hosea comes home from work with his wonderful naming idea for their son!

What is Hosea thinking?

Jezreel was a place of significance in Israel history: the sight of a massacre and political coup and a place with religious significance for Israel. It was a reminder to the people of a violent life without God, one where God’s love is absent. The name signifies a place of judgement without grace, life without love, loneliness without connection.

Think about Gettysburg for the moment. Gettysburg is a place with incredible significance in American history. It is a place of death, a place where the blood turned the ground to marsh; a place where in the immediate days following the battle corpses outnumbered residents by four to one. Yet today, it is a memorial, with a college and many visitors. Imagine calling your child Gettysburg.

That sounds like a terrible name to call your child. And I don’t recommend it. It sounds traumatic, but significant. Poignant, yet disturbing. But this is what God wants to do through Hosea. He wants to use his life, his relationship and the children in that family as a metaphor to explain who he is and what he wants for his people.

God wants Israel to remember what life is like without him Without God there is no grace, no love and no connection. There is just violence and death. It sounds hellish, and that is the point! God doesn’t want them to experience that, but in good psychological work, he is reminding them of the pain of brokenness to motivate them to pursue something better in the future.

Do you have a memory like that? Do you have a situation, an event, a place or time in your life that is a reminder of pain and heartache? Perhaps it’s your biggest regret, or a memory of something bad that you wish you could forget. You ask God to take it away, but it stays in your memory. There’s something helpful about that. The memory of the pain can be a motivator to avoid a similar situation in the future. So, it becomes a warning sign. Or sometimes our greatest regrets, our greatest hurts become the very means by which we help others. So, we help others learn from our bad experiences.

Perhaps you’re in that time right now, a hellish existence filled with pain…God wants you to know…he has something better for you, he has a life of grace, love and connection for you. He will help you through this to find that better future. That is the symbolism of the name Jezreel.

The Second and Third Child

The passage moves on to the second and third child

⁶ Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them… ⁸ After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah Gomer had another son. ⁹ Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God - Hosea 1:6, 8 (NIV)

She is called “not-loved”. He is called “not my people”.

What terrible names for children! What terrible names for people! It is hard to fathom. I understand if you look at this story and think it’s crazy. I’m with you! It is crazy. It is crazy to call them these names. It seems outright cruel and you would probably give those parents a look of utter amazement and disbelief if they introduced their children to you as Not-loved and “Not-my-people”.

But…maybe…there’s a reason for it. Let me explain with this story. You see, back in 2004, a massive earthquake hit just off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was a 9.3 magnitude earthquake that sent a series of tsunamis across the ocean killing somewhere between 230,000-280,000 people. When one of the tsunamis hit the village of Baan Nam Khem in Thailand, it destroyed it. Mrs. Od Judet was eight months pregnant at the time. Listen to her story…

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0jqDVLpt34 (play to 1:24)

Out of context, the name Tsunami, sounds like a terrible name to call a child. It brings back memory of the deaths in her village, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the memory of the devastation it caused. It would seem a cruel name for a child to bear. But, that name also brings back memory of her survival and the hope that child represents.

Remember, Hosea’s situation is unique. There is a specific message God wants to convey through these names. For Jezreel, it’s a reminder of what life without God might look like. For Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi, it is a reminder that the people who hear the names of these children being called are acting in ways that are unloving. They are acting unlike the people of God. They are a people who are acting cruel and merciless. They are a people who degrade themselves and act in terrible ways rather than worshippers of God. They don’t act or look like the people they are supposed to be. Each time the children are called home to dinner, each time Hosea mentions his children, it pings on the ears of the people of Israel that they are not acting or living like God wants them to.

The same could be said for many of us today. We don’t act or live the way God wants us to. For some of us, like Israel in the passage, we know how God wants us to live, but we have chosen not to live that way. And the result of that choice is less than we expected. The result is painful or worse – hellish.

For others here, you don’t know how God wants you to live. This whole religious thing is a mystery, but you are here, looking for something, looking for someone. Perhaps you came here because your friend invited you and you didn’t want to be rude, or got tired of saying no, or perhaps you came here because something has intrigued you. Perhaps it’s something missing, or something that’s not right, or something that’s just a little off in your life and you wonder if there’s something else to experience.

The names of these children tell us about life without God – hellish, not loved, not his people. But the actions of Hosea tell us something different…something amazing. And those actions come right after our little word. But first, a little context that makes this story more meaningful.

There’s an interesting comment about the way these children are described in this passage. Jezreel is introduced in typical fashion as the child of Hosea and Gomer. But Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi are not. Jezreel’s birth is described as “(Gomer) conceived and bore him a son”. That formula of “conceived and bore him” is a common way of showing that the child is the descendant of both Hosea and Gomer. The other two children are introduced as being the children of Gomer, but not necessarily Hosea’s. In fact, some commentators, believe these children were not Hosea’s children at all, but rather the children of an affair or affairs of Gomer. And that is the depth of the conflict – she has betrayed him through an affair, fallen pregnant and had illegitimate children.

If that is true, then the second and third children’s names are statements of truth – not born out of their love and not the descendants of Hosea – not loved and not his.

But Hosea’s actions about these children is something remarkable. Since they are not his children, he could ignore them, discard them, kick them out of his life and away from his protection. But he doesn’t, instead he names them and includes them in his family. He offers them connection, protection and a home. He offers them love and belonging.

And that is the point God is making. The people may be acting unloving, they may be acting unlike His people, they may be acting in a way that is unfaithful and so deserving of a life without God, without grace, without love, without connection YET God will love them, include them and be with them anyway!

And God wants you to know that too. That regardless of what you have done in the past or how you are acting now, YET he loves you, YET he includes you and YET he builds a relationship with you!

And where do we find that – in the very next verses of chapter 1 and 2. In fact, if we hold onto that possibility that the second and third child might not be Hosea’s we will find that these next verses take on a whole new meaning. Just before chapter 2, amid the terrible names of these children we find our little word for today, that I have mentioned already.

Call him Jezreel, call her Not-Loved and Call him Not-my people…YET

¹⁰ “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ¹¹ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

Hosea 1:10-2:1 (NIV)

The word Yet, is our little word. In Hebrew, it is the same word translated as “So” from last week.

It is the word on which this story hinges. It is the word that changes this story of craziness about terrible names for children into an action of God that is so loving and profound it transforms people. It is a word that changes destinies and impacts futures. It is a word that shows God for who he is, someone who wants to love, who wants to be connected to you, who wants to be gracious and merciful. That little word, Yet, says God isn’t done with you. It says God isn’t finished with you.

Hosea loves these children as his own. He includes them in his family and lineage. He, by his actions, declares that they are loved and are his people. They do not suffer the burdens of their names, they enjoy the blessings of his actions. That is the message God wants to convey to Israel and to you and me today. While you act unloving and not like my people should act, YET you don’t need to suffer the burdens of those names, instead enjoy the blessings of my actions.

Here’s what it means for us!

I don’t know the names you have been called by others, or the names you call yourself. Maybe the names speak of terrible things you have done, names of a past or present that you think isn’t acceptable to God YET God loves you. You might suffer under the burdens of those names YET God wants you to enjoy the blessings of HIS actions.

You might have said and done things that leave your life feeling lost and alone – a hellish existence like the name Jezreel implies.  You might have said and done terrible things that make you feel unloved and unwelcome, like the names Not Loved and Not My People imply.

YET…pay attention…YET God says, despite those things that he wants you with him because being loved by God, being His person is dependent on his actions and not the burden of the names we call ourselves. God wants to change your identity from being focused on what you’ve lost or done to being focused on what he does and what you are…loved. You no longer need to carry the burden of those names, you can enjoy the blessings of God’s actions. You are loved. We are loved.

We are loved despite our actions and our failures.

We are loved despite our past, present or future.

We are loved because God loves us!

The little word “yet” in chapter 1:10, changes the whole story. When Hosea writes out this part of his life in his poem in chapter 2 he plays with this little word YET. Using the marriage image, he describes how a betrayed spouse might respond, with anger, rejection and hatred… YET God chooses not to. Instead God says, “Therefore, I will allure her, I will speak tenderly to her, I will respond and show my love to those called ‘Not my loved one and I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ‘You are my people.”

In another poem, Hosea describes Israel and God like a little child being raised by a father. He draws on his own images of raising these children who were not his own.

³ It was I who taught them to walk, 

taking them by the arms; 

but they did not realize 

it was I who healed them. 

⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness, 

with ties of love. 

To them I was like one who lifts 

a little child to the cheek, 

and I bent down to feed them. 

Despite the growing conflict between our lovers, with possible affairs and illegitimate children, the actions of Hosea shine like a light in the darkness of the conflict. He has children who are not his own, his wife has left him and his life might seem in tatters. YET, instead of rejecting the children and Gomer and moving on with his life, Hosea reaches out with love. We will look at his actions next week as we look for the resolution of this story.

Conclusion

But for now, the story of the names of these children, and the promises of God’s actions leave us plenty on which to think and act. I don’t know about you, but I know the burden of a name. You see, my name comes from my grandparents. I was named after a hat company. I am told it was a name they saw while coming to visit me in the hospital. They liked it, my mother liked it, so that is what I was called.

Dorian. The most famous person at the time was a woman called Dorianne Berry, and so I was mercilessly mocked for having a girl’s name. I was teased and bullied for that name. As a teenager, with some friends, we began to look up the meaning of our names. When it came to my name, the book said my name meant “intruder”.

I felt the burden of that meaning. For much of my life I felt like an intruder and with it came the pain of feeling excluded. Even to this day, being intentionally excluded, especially by people I love, cuts me to the core of my being. For much of my life my experience with people is that of an outsider – looking in, wondering if I am included and wanted. The meaning of my name resounded in my head repeatedly. It shaped my identity.

Then my uncle told me in passing about the Greek meaning of my name: dorea – gifted. He said it in passing as though it was something small. Not for me. An identity shift happened. No longer was I an intruder but rather I was gifted. The burden of my name was replaced with the blessing of God’s action. He had gifted me and I could use those gifts for others.

God wants us all to know that the burdens of the names we call ourselves when we are in those dark and dreary places can be replaced with the blessings of his actions. While we might look at ourselves and call ourselves terrible, cruel and despicable names, God looks at us and says, YET we are loved.

Will we respond to the names that resound in our head, the names that tell us we are alone, broken, unloved, names that put us on the path to a hellish existence OR will we respond to a God who says, YET WILL I LOVE YOU.

I want you to experience the love of God. Here’s how. I’m going to suggest some steps you can take…listen closely, and perhaps one of these might be the right step for you to take. My encouragement, make that step today.

·       Start the recovery process – Faith Community in Hopkinton offers Celebrate Recovery every Wednesday to help people with hurts, habits and hangups from life. Just come. Maybe that’s what you need to experience the love of God.

·       Stop doing it alone.

o   Join a group

o   Join a team – there’s nothing better than blessing others with what you have. Especially consider the kids in our church.  Each week a few hundred children gather downstairs for a phenomenal experience we call Faith Kids. Trust me, this is not your mother’s Sunday School. This is an amazing experience. But it needs volunteers to use their gifts and abilities to share the love of God with these kids. Come alongside these children and join the Faith Kids team. Stop doing it alone.

·       Ask someone to help

·       Remind yourself of the love of God – this week read John 15:1-17 each week in a different translation. Read it and let it seep into your soul.

Don’t leave here carrying the burdens of the names you have been called or you call yourself. Leave here with the promise of the blessings of God’s actions – actions that speak loudly...we are loved.

-->

So many people feel that God is violent, angry and judging them in this world. Far too often, as Christians, we repeat the names of judgment and hate on people. But we have a better example to follow. We have the example of a savior who, while being crucified, said “forgive them”. We have the example of Jesus, who looked into the eyes of his close friend, Peter, as he denied knowing him, YET, later, made him a meal and commissioned him to continue his work. We can be the sounds of condemnation increasing the burden of the names people call themselves, or we can be the voice of blessing, pointing people to the actions of Jesus who says to everyone, “You are loved”. This week, be the voice of blessing and tell as many people as you can, “You are loved”.