Redeeming Love

Easter is here, and for that reason alone, I decided to read a book based on God’s love to us, a fallen humanity possibly beyond repair. You see before I read this book, I was on the brink of despair. I could talk about all the ills in the world, and how far from reason humanity has fallen, but instead I will focus on things closer home. The little foxes that eventually destroy the vine. The friend who backstabs you. The mean boss, who never keeps their word, and their main ambition is to bring you down, no matter what it takes. The husband who senselessly beats his wife daily, and while I am going on and on about humanity and its ills, allow me to stop because I am already getting depressed and believe it or not, this post was supposed to be an upbeat one, I guess it just took another turn of its own. 

So I picked a book by Francine Rivers, the title, Redeeming love! it’s hard not to have high expectations going into this book especially seeing the 760+ 5 star reviews at Amazon) and half way into the book I could see why! The story is about a prostitute named Angel who is relentlessly wooed by a God-fearing man named Michael. Touted as a retelling of the biblical story of Hosea and Gomer. This story has never had more meaning to me, like it did, reading this very book. I must admit however that, employing a prostitute as the vehicle to demonstrate God’s boundless, tenacious love, is very effective. 

The book is set in California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.  Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside. Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she can no longer deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does…the One who will never let her go.  A life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love. 

This book captured my heart for two reasons, first a prostitute named Angel, ok that got me, the irony however was not lost on me. The second reason, I saw myself as I read the countless times Angel decided to go back to her old ways and yet Michael never lost faith in her. I see myself countless of times, dropping the ball. I do wrong, I upset the balance, I betray a trust, and just like that, God never looses his faith in me, at all, and he continues to give me countless of chances 

so if you are feeling worthless, wondering if God will ever love you again, after seemingly messing up over and over, why don’t you have a take a this book. If you are baffled by the meanness of humanity and you probably wonder if there is any hope, I think this is the book for you, and most importantly is you love a good christian book, that points you to the truth in an exciting and adventurous way, then you my dear friend, need to read this book. 

Happy Easter 

The Book Swag 

xo