Redeeming Love

It's been a long time since I've been so caught up in a book that I just couldn't put it down. I grew up loving to read... My mom tells me I learned to read when I was 4 and never stopped. If you had walked into my family's house on a cold winters evening you would've most likely seen me sitting in our old rocking chair under a blanket with a book in my lap. Or if you had happened into our backyard on a lazy summer day I was probably floating in the pool trying to turn the pages of my book without getting it wet!

My love for reading was rivaled only by soccer when I was in high school. My closet was overflowing with books. But when I began college I quickly became overloaded with homework and projects. Any time I would try to pick up a book for pleasure my conscience haunted me, telling me I should spend my time studying if my nose was going to be in a book. That started 5 years ago...(I can't believe it's been that long!) and ever since its been hard for me to pick up a book and read just to enjoy reading. No book seemed to keep my attention and I always found something more productive that I could be doing. That is until I bought Redeeming Love.

I finished it today on the drive up to the mountains, where Mark and I are staying the weekend. I cried as the main character finally understood the relentless love of our God. I cried as I thought of all of the times God had pursued me with the same everlasting love. The same grace and forgiveness offered over and over no matter how many times I rejected it.

Through out the book the other main character...who represented the prophet Hosea... Demonstrated and offered the love and forgiveness to others that God grants us. And it convicted me of how little I freely give that to those around me. I have a tendency to determine who is worthy of redemption and who should continue to wear their scarlet letter. How humbled and grateful I am to be loved by a God who is good even when there is no good in me. Who desires to be in relationship with me despite all of my failures. And who sacrificed His own Son so I could come in to His presence clean and my sins forgotten.

This book has very mature elements in it and would not be appropriate for a young audience, but for mature adults I highly recommend it!