Grace and truth. They are the inescapable character traits of God.
God is a fair and just God. He doesn’t compromise like we do. I think that sometimes we take for granted the holiness of God when focusing on His grace. We read passages like Hosea 2:3 and wonder if God would really do something like that.
If she does not, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will make her like a dry and barren land, and she will die of thirst.
Hosea 2:3 GNB
The truth is, He did. He stripped his people of everything as they were punished through the exile. He did this because He loved them and desired for them to be holy like Him. Consider Hosea’s emotional state. What does he do with a rebellious, unfaithful wife? How would you counsel someone in his situation?
God allows truth to conquer us. He allows circumstances to break us. He sends us to the land we desire, a far off land full of every sin imaginable. It is there that truth is truly found. We might live in compromise but none of us actually want to go down that path. We know where it leads.
God is also a God of grace. He is absolutely full of undeserved mercy.
God’s love is far-reaching and relentless. It’s this unimaginable love that draws us back, now more aware of our waywardness, and much more aware of his grace. We experience the filth of sin in order to appreciate the weight of grace.
This pattern, just like with the analogy here in Hosea, should be producing growth in our lives. He is always working on chipping away more of us and replacing it with more of Him. He is allowing truth to set in and grace to conquer. The journey is what makes us who we are, but the fact that God walks the journey with us should drive us to a place of repentance and thanksgiving.