“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know’ let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:2-3 (ESV)

How many of us have been unfaithful? It’s a hard thing to be truly and completely faithful. Don’t misunderstand me, faithfulness is not difficult when someone is faithful to us. If we have someone, like a spouse or a good friend, it is easy to be faithful and love them as long as they are faithful and loving to us. However, what happens when they betray us? Do we stay with them? I’m not talking about something small, but rather something like cheating you or slandering you or even betraying marital vows. We live in a culture that insists we can simply break the friendship or file for divorce and move on. After all, there are plenty of fish in the sea, right? But what is the godly thing to do? I want to be very clear here. Staying in an unhealthy relationship is dangerous and there are situations where a relationship must be broken off for protection. However, true godly faithfulness is something that is incredibly difficult to pull off. How many of us would stay with a spouse who is cheating on us? How many of us would forgive a friend who stole from us? How many of us would stay when everyone else says leave?

This is what God did with Israel. Israel gave God every chance to break the covenant and leave Israel to fend for themselves. However, this is not what God did. In the midst of idolatry (which Hosea pictures as marital unfaithfulness) and disobedience in tithing (which Hosea describes as stealing from God) and multiple other sins, God remained faithful to Israel. He never broke His promise or His word. God disciplined Israel so they would return to Him and have a right relationship with God.

For us as Christians, God has also made us a promise. God’s promise to us is that He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus describes our relationship with God as being held in His hand. The picture is of a child being held by his Father. He promises us in John 10 that nothing will ever be able to snatch us out of Jesus’ hand. Furthermore, he tells us the Father holds us and He will never allow us to be snatched out of His hand because the Father and Jesus are one. How amazing is that! We will never lose the salvation God gave us, because He is the one holding onto us and not the other way around. This is the example we should use in our daily lives. We should be faithful to others around us and forgive them, because we have a savior who demonstrates how we should be faithful.

This week, demonstrate God’s love and faithfulness to those around you. Share with them the good news of the gospel. Seek to show faithfulness to God and to those around you as Christ shows you and I faithfulness every day.