2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. . .  1 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, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Hosea 1:2-3, 3:1-2

When you read the story of Hosea, it’s easy to be astounded at what he was asked to do: marry a prostitute, and then once she wandered off and returned to her life of sin, go and continue to love her. This extreme living example of grace was a picture of God’s love towards a promiscuous Israel. God commanded Hosea to go and show love to a person he had every right to walk away from.

Who is God asking you to show love to today? What difficult person is in your life, whether at work, at church or in your family? Who has hurt you, betrayed you, taken advantage of you? Who are you secretly holding a grudge against until they come begging for forgiveness? Like Hosea, is God asking you to love a difficult person, a person you have every right to give up on or hate, to showcase a living example of God’s grace to the world?

Ask the Holy Spirit if there is a difficult person in your life that you need to show love to today.