"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 2:23b (NIV)

Growing up, I was an uncoordinated kid.

One of the ones who was often chosen last for the kickball team in gym class. And even then, only because there was no one else left to pick.

If you, too, have ever been picked last, the idea of being chosen by God might sound rather foreign. Some of us might even need to rethink what it means to be chosen.

To be chosen by God means we are His first choice and His best choice. Unlike the kids in the gym, He didn't shrug His shoulders and say, "Well, I guess I'll take her if no one else will."

Not at all.

When Jesus' hands were nailed to a cross, His fingers pointed to you and me - He intentionally chose to die for us. He chose you and He chose me and He chooses us every day.

Isn't that amazing?

The book of Hosea in the Bible beautifully illustrates this concept for us. Hosea was a prophet whom God told to marry a prostitute and thereby show the nation of Israel how she'd been unfaithful by worshipping false gods. Hosea chose Gomer, a woman who would birth his children, yet leave him time and again for another lover. (For more, see Hosea chapters 1 and 2.)

All through the book of Hosea, we see both judgment and hope, destruction and restoration. Hosea proclaims both sides of God, which reflect His one heart - God's faithful love for His people, warning them for their good.

Just like God chose the nation of Israel and Hosea the prophet chose Gomer to reveal His love, God chose you. In fact, you are a chosen woman of God.

It's so easy to look in the foggy mirror that is my life and see all the reasons why I shouldn't be chosen and loved: I'm selfish, I wander from God, I have mixed motives, I'm not good enough - oh, the reasons are unending!

However, the more accurate mirror of God's Word reflects the truth that I am chosen and loved. And, that my friend, includes you.

In today's key verse, God's Word to Israel reminds us that even though we have made mistakes and might feel rejected and unworthy of love, God still pursues us. The message of Hosea is still God's message to us.

In other words, Israel's identity was a chosen and loved people of God. Our identity is chosen and loved women of God.

Thankfully, I've learned God doesn't love me because I am cleaned up, religious or even because I am a Christian. He loves me because He is love. We didn't earn His love and we can't lose His love either.

The Bible says, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8b, ESV). He didn't choose to love you because you were lovely, He loved you and then you became lovely. Your value comes from His inherit value.

Look into the mirror of your soul and see Gomer reflected back at you. She was the beloved bride and so are you. Embrace your true identity as a chosen and loved woman of God!

Lord, thank You for choosing me, even when I feel unworthy to be chosen. And thank You for loving me when I didn't do anything to earn Your love. Please speak words of truth over me when I'm tempted to doubt I am chosen and loved. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

***

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

1 John 4:9-10, "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (NLT)

Romans 8:38-39, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (ESV)

RELATED RESOURCES:

Hosea: Unfailing Love Changes Everything by Jennifer Rothschild is a 7-session Bible study that focuses on the Old Testament prophet, whose life message demonstrates the kind of love we dream of, a love that changes everything. For details, click here.

For more encouragement from Jennifer, visit her website.

Enter to WIN a copy of Hosea by Jennifer Rothschild. In celebration of this study, Jennifer's publisher is giving away 10 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here, letting us know why you'd like a copy for yourself OR whom you would give the book to, if you won. {We'll randomly select 10 winners and email notifications to each one, by Monday, June 8.}

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

You are indeed chosen and loved. Stop right now and ask God to help you receive and believe you are chosen. And loved.

Your identity is not your failure or past. Your identity is not your success or virtues. Your identity is not what you do, what you did, haven't done, should have done, or wished you'd done. Your identity is a chosen, loved woman whom God calls His beloved. How could your life be different today, if you fully believed these truths?



 

© 2015 by Jennifer Rothschild. All rights reserved.

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