Summary: Let me encourage you to exercise real and deep forgiveness that goes beyond words and continues to aid the healing process between your brothers and sisters or your family members. Let the love of God toward you flow freely out to others.

The story is told of an elderly lady who was living in poverty. Her son had recently passed away and she was in mourning.

A lawyer came by to help her settle her son’s affairs and interpret the will for her. The lady was illiterate and had always been taken care of by others. Sadly, her son did not leave much in the way of savings or things of value, so the will did not help her much.

She offered the lawyer a cup of tea and sat down to relax and talk as they drank the tea.

The lawyer asked: Had you son been away for long?

“Oh yes,” said the lady. “Years and years - twenty or more.”

Did he keep contact? The lawyer asked.

“Constantly,” said the lady. “He sent a cassette tape every week.”

“What did he say?” He inquired.

“Oh, just news.” she said. “He was very successful you know. He constantly encouraged me to go back to school, which was rather foolish at my age I thought.”

“Did you go?” asked the man.

“No, but I told him I did, just to keep him happy.”

“Was he a help to you?”

The woman thought about it for a moment. “Well he never sent money if that’s what you mean, but it is a great help to a mother for her son to keep such close contact and to care for the details of her life.

The lawyer was astounded. “He was so successful and he never sent you anything?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said the woman. “he always sent one of these lovely little pieces of paper.”

At that she opened a box near her chair and showed the lawyer a huge stack of $100 money orders.

She had been living in poverty and did not need to. Had she taken her son’s advice, she would have been able to read the papers and see that she was actually being very well cared for.

This is how it is for those who are loved by God. His love is there for the taking, if we will only do what is required to experience it.

Hosea 14:4-8

4 “I will heal their waywardness

and love them freely,

for my anger has turned away from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily.

Like a cedar of Lebanon

he will send down his roots;

6 his young shoots will grow.

His splendor will be like an olive tree,

his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

7 Men will dwell again in his shade.

He will flourish like the grain.

He will blossom like a vine,

and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like a green pine tree;

your fruitfulness comes from me.” (NIV)

Hosea is a love story. Actually it is two love stories. It is the story of Hosea’s love for his wife. That love story is a symbol of the love of God for Israel.

In both cases the love is unreturned. Hosea’s wife Gomer is a prostitute who cannot give up her lifestyle. She bears three children in the course of the book and according to the first couple of verses, they are not all Hosea’s. But Hosea is commanded by God not to give up on her and he pursues her to the point of buying her out of slavery.

In the same way, God speaks of pursuing Israel and Judah while those two nations continue to pursue idols. In the last chapter of the book, God, through Hosea, breaks into a love song for His people. He speaks of all He longs to do for them, and will do for them when they finally turn from their idols and return to Him.

His message to them is that His love is so great that, even though their sin was great, He will receive them back and joyfully pour Himself into her. He sings in this last chapter of what His people can expect to experience then.

The one God loves will be forgiven

God promises that His anger will be turned away. We are very quick to tell people that problems in their lives is not necessarily the result of God’s anger. Sometimes I think we are too quick. The Bible makes it clear that God’s anger and people’s sin are sometimes the source of punishment that takes the form of sickness, hardship, and trouble.

Jesus makes it clear that this is not always the case. Job is the prime example of this truth. But Jesus also makes it clear that:

those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:4-5 (NIV)

The trouble that typifies a person’s life, if it is the result of sin will be turned aside when that person repents. It may safely be put this way:

The fact that a person experiences trouble is no proof that he is in sin – but if you are in sin, you can certainly expect trouble.

We may easily say that God is mad at us and so we are experiencing hardship. Interestingly enough, most of the time when people say this they are trying to unload the personal responsibility. The hardship:

â–¸ is not the result of my own bad planning

â–¸ it is not the result of my bad decisions

â–¸ it is not the result of my wasteful lifestyle

â–¸ it is not the result of my lax behavior

â–¸ it is not the result of my lack of industry

It is God’s fault. He must be mad at me

usually this is followed by — “for some reason ...”

The fact is, if it is God’s anger that has caused our hardship the answer to the problem lays right at our own doorstep. It is because of sin that He has become angry and turning from our sin is the one sure way of calming His anger.

With the people of Israel God is calling out to you:

“I will heal your waywardness and love you freely, for my anger will turn away from you.”

Does God love you anyway?

Yes – but you have prevented Him from loving you freely.

I remember lying to my dad for weeks about my school work when I was in elementary school. When my mom found out about it, she made me tell dad myself what I had done.

My dad disciplined me. I am convinced that he did so because he loved me. It was not his preferred way of expressing love, but it was necessary. I know it did not feel at the time like he loved me. It felt quite the opposite. But I survived and passed the 4th grade and am better off for the discipline I received.

At other times, when I was at peace with my dad and was doing what he required of me, I experienced his love in quite different ways, ways that were much more fun and identifiable as love. God promises that he will respond like this when His people turn to him.

The one God loves will flourish

Studies show that children of divorced couples often do more poorly in school. It is measurable. On the average, their performance drops by a full letter grade. The reason?

They don’t feel loved.

I don’t think it has to be this way, indeed it isn’t always this way. I’m quoting an average, so some children do better and some struggle more.

But isn’t it interesting that on the whole, when a child feels loved, he can study better and pay closer attention to his teachers?

This is how it is with God. When He is fully and freely expressing His love to somebody, they flourish.

Not necessarily a financial thing

â–¸ Are your relationships healthy or at least improving?

â–¸ Are your needs met?

â–¸ Are your decision making processes smooth?

Notice that God expresses these things in botanical terms. He describes the one he loves as a tree:

â–¸ the person will blossom

â–¸ the person will sink deep roots

â–¸ the person will enjoy new shoots of life

It is the downfall of a materialistic world that we try to describe everything in financial terms. If we are financially strong, we are blessed by God. If we are not, we pray for God’s blessings.

â–¸ How is your personal integrity?

â–¸ Are there some sins you have conquered?

â–¸ Are their some personality flaws you have overcome?

â–¸ Have you recognized problems in your life and begun steps to correct them?

These are deep roots.

â–¸ Have you found joy in small things in your life?

â–¸ Have you recognized the good things in your life for what they are and become more content with them rather than chasing after more?

â–¸ Have you reflected on the quality your life would have without those you cherish?

These are the blossoms on your tree

â–¸ Has God given you a family to love and be loved by?

â–¸ Do you have more to do than you have time to do it?

â–¸ Do you find that you have plenty of responsibility to keep you occupied?

These are the new shoots of life that God promises.

These may not seem like blessings, but remember we are talking about an image based on plants. A bigger garden is always more work – but it also produces more fruit.

The one God loves will be a blessing to others

Hosea continues to describe this in terms of trees. He speaks of a tree’s scent and its shade. These are both things that do not benefit the tree itself. They are a benefit to others who are close to the tree.

Both things make life for other people more pleasant.

If you have worked outside in the heat when there was no shade around, you know what I’m talking about.

I am particularly sensitive to the sun. Some of you are too. Most people can make do with a sun screen of some type. I rely on a shirt. Usually one with long sleeves. Even so, when I was working in Kenya in the desert, equatorial sun, I sunburned through my shirt.

Another thing I noticed in Kalokol was the smell. Out in the middle of nowhere with nothing around but scrub bushes and thorn trees, you could smell it. It was not an unpleasant smell, but it was distinctively different from what I was used to.

If you are in the habit of decorating for Christmas with a live tree, again, you know what I am talking about. The smell of freshly cut pine permeates your house like few other scents can.

These things are pleasant: the shade in the heat, the smell of newly cut cedar. These are some of the results of Gods freely expressed love in your life. You will smell good to other people.

I’m not talking about bathing. You will still have to do that. I wish it were not so. I wish I didn’t smell the way I do after going a day without a shower. Once again, you know what I’m talking about.

One result of God’s freely expressed love in your life is that you will be pleasant for other people to be around. I believe this is what is described as the beauty of holiness. When a person is in a right relationship with God and he is experiencing God’s love - that love overflows into other relationships.

Let’s face it, there are people we like to be around and some that we don’t. Some people just have a pleasant disposition and radiate the love of God. You can sense that they know Him well and that they are expressing that love to you when you speak to them.

â–¸ If God is being gentle with you - be gentle with others

â–¸ If God is being kind to you - be kind to others

â–¸ If God has blessed you - bless others

â–¸ If God is giving abundantly to you - give to others

Let the love of God overflow in your life.

This is not socially popular at first. Transition never is. If you have experienced the love of God richly and you have not before allowed it to overflow,

â–¸ people may think you are up to something

â–¸ They may think you want something

â–¸ they may even think you are being weird

Maybe you are. But you will find that one of the blessings of being loved by God is that you can more freely love others.

This is something that is related to the forgiveness that God gives those He loves

If God has forgiven you - forgive others

I’m not talking about a perfunctory word given to fulfill an obligation.

I remember being told to apologize to my brother. I know that there are many times Joe walked away from me knowing that I was not really sorry for whatever I had done. I did just enough to make it so my parents had to admit that I had complied with what they asked for and then went on my merry spiteful way.

Forgiveness can be offered just as grudgingly. It is not enough to go through the motions – the motions do not heal families and friendships. They do not bring brothers and sisters in Christ together. They simply fulfill an obligation so we can “honestly” say we tried.

Let me encourage you to exercise real and deep forgiveness that goes beyond words and continues to aid the healing process between your brothers and sisters or your family members. Let the love of God toward you flow freely out to others. It is one of the natural results of the process. To not allow it to happen is to live with a tension that is unnatural and more difficult than it has to be.

Jesus said:

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:9-10 (NIV)

One of the great results of the coming of Jesus, to be born a poor child in a manger, is the free outpouring of love on the sheep of God’s pasture. Jesus is the greatest fulfillment of:

â–¸ forgiveness

â–¸ the flourishing of those he loves

â–¸ the creation of an ongoing blessing to others

Those who believe in Him are participants in an exercise in love that cannot be equaled.