Fruit: Love

Monday 05/18- Wednesday 05/20

Galatians 5:22, Romans 5:8, Hosea 2:23, and Hosea 14:4:

Galatians 5:22 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,..
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Hosea 2:23 (NIV)
I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. '
I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

Hosea 14:4 (NIV)
"I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.”

Corresponding Devotionals:
05/18
John 3:16
Hosea 1:2-3a
Hosea 2: 14-23

05/19
John 15:13
Hosea 3:1-4

05/20
Ephesians 4:17-18
Hosea 14:1-9

Ladies, as I began writing this for you I decided I would pretend we were in a girls Bible study together at Starbucks. This would be a time for us to fellowship with one another, enjoy wonderful drinks and treats, and dig deeper in to the wonderful Word of God to help us better understand our loving Creator. As I talked to many of you on Friday about who had read the first post of the blog and what they had though about it the comment that struck me the most and the one that I heard most often is that you enjoyed the post and you felt as if I were sitting down talking with you. That is exactly the feeling that I wanted you to have as you read this blog. Now, sit down, grab your favorite drink and a snack that you love because thats exactly what we're going to be talking about today. No, Ashley, not snacks and drink but love. God's love.



I bet that there was a large amount of eye rolling when you read the first verse from Galatians about the “Fruit of the Spirit”. However you're going to have to get used to it because for these next few weeks we're going to study God using the Fruit of the Spirit. The first fruit as I'm sure you know is.... love!

So, what is God's love. In the New Testament we can go in to Jesus's crucifixion. Honestly, how much more evidence of love do you really need after that? God loved you SO MUCH that even after you screwed everything up in the garden He still sent His only son. His son who is a part of Himself, to die a horribly, painful, and gruesome death so that YOU could live for eternity if YOU choose to follow God.

Isn't that crazy? How many of us would knowingly, because Jesus is God and God knows every possible outcome in of everything, go and die the way Jesus did? I'm going to guess not many of you, actually not any of you at all ever would want to put yourself through what Jesus did for you. Lets really think about how much love Jesus had for us to do that. I mean, I love you all but I don't plan on being beaten with a whip that is meant to take the flesh off of my back, then carry a cross on my back after having the flesh stripped off of it, and then voluntarily being nailed to the very cross that I just carried for goodness knows how long. That does not sound at all fun nor does it sound like something I want to do with my Friday nights! Even for someone I love dearly, that still doesn't make it sound anymore attractive to me. But thats what Jesus did for you! And thats only the New Testaments example, we haven't even looked at what He did for you in the Old Testament.

All right, lets jump all the way back to Hosea. Remember him? I didn't think so.. It's all good, all right, to give you a little background, Hosea is a prophet from the Old Testament and God tells him to marry a women who is a whore. Now you all must be thinking “Rose is being more crazy than usual. How does this at all relate to God's amazing love.” Well it does and I'm getting to that. Hosea marrying the harlot, Gomer, is actually God's symbolism for Himself and Israel. I know you're still thinking “Rose is crazy...” but stay with me. Israel is so sinfully, lost that God views Israel, His beloved people, as an adulterous women. If you can imagine being God, imagine not being happy at all. In fact imagine being angry, righteously angry. C'mon would you be happy if you created the all of human kind and set-apart a specific group of people to be especially blessed. People that you've forgiven over and over again even though the abandon you over and over again and are continually sinning against you and forgetting you exist. You wouldn't be at all. And God isn't and He even gets so frustrated with Israel that He says to them

“You are no longer my loved one!”

However, God also finishes by saying

“I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. '
I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' " (Hosea 2:23)
Even though Israel keeps on sinning God over and over again in Hosea, even though He is angry with the Israelites offers them forgiveness, compassion, and love. At the end of Hosea God tells us what He will do to the Israelites, and what He does for you all the time.
"I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.”
Even though God is angry you have sinned against Him, He will forget His anger against you, heal you, and love you freely. And just like God did for the Israelites, He will do it over and over and over again. No matter what you do, what you have done, and what you will do, God will never stop loving you.

Even now some of you think that you've done some pretty horrible stuff that God can never forgive you for and will always punish you for. But if constant forgiveness and unconditional acceptance isn't what true love actually is than we're all doomed. However, I want to tell you something. God is bigger than that. He will forgive you if you seek Him and ask Him for mercy with a softened heart. Even before you were born God sent His only and perfect son to die for your sins so you wouldn't have to, God wants you to be in eternity with Him in heaven.

Girls, you know I love each and every one of you but I'm going to tell you the truth. My love is worthless compared to God's love. Your boyfriend's love will be a pale comparison compared to God's unconditional love and acceptance. Even your parent's love will not sustain you. Every other love will fail you at some point in your life but God's love is infinite and amazing and will never ever let you down.
I leave you with one last verse from Romans that sums up my thoughts for you.
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I'm convinced, are you?