Utumishi Blog

Christine Auma, second year apprentice currently serving in the iServe Africa training department, posts a great review of Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love…

It has been a good read going through this novel. It is such a retelling of the book of Hosea. I thank God that it came at such a time for me as I have just finished going through the book of Hosea.

The story of Michael Hosea going to pick a prostitute namely Angel/Sarah repeatedly is such an amazing depiction of God’s amazing Love and grace to us. Angel is a girl who was sold into prostitution at the age of eight and ever since then that is the only life she has ever known. She has lived with the bad feelings and has finally gotten used to being used by men and other people. She knows that everything she ever gets and the favors she receives must be paid by her own body. She tries breaking away and even escaping from this kind of life on her own or by the help of other people like Johnny but it does not help. She always ends up in prostitution.

God then sends Michael Hosea to act as a redeemer. He is supposed to point Angel to God who is able to totally redeem her. But Angel will have nothing to do with God. In her mind God is someone up there in the sky, so big and ruthless, waiting for you to sin and then whip you. Instead of Angel trusting in God, she turns Michael into her god and worships him as such. Obviously God will not share his glory with anyone and therefore a separation has to happen. Angel leaves Michael again, but during this time of separation Angel meets the Lord, receives him in her life and she is totally transformed. God gives her a ministry of looking out for prostitutes and sharing with them the Love of God. She is also blessed to teach them the basic skills of cooking and sewing. She also encourages them to look out for alternative means of living rather than selling their bodies. Finally she goes back to her husband, Michael Hosea.

Going through the story left me so sad. It made me wonder about myself and how undeserving I am of his love.  It made me look at myself and realize my filthiness and sinfulness and on the other hand the holiness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A couple of lessons from the book:

1. I was totally bound in sin. However much I wanted to do well or stop sinning just like Angel, I could not just make it. Like angel trying to run away from Duke and his slavery by the help of Johnny it didn’t help. Even when she tried running away by herself, it did not work. She just landed herself in the hands of the miners who continually used her and finally landed in the hands of the duchess, who continued selling her to men and using her for her own selfish gains in the name of providing a roof over her. It did not help even with Michael Hosea coming for her. She still went back to her sinfulness, what she called her ‘old life’.  It is only God who was able to redeem Angel and not anyone else, not even the loving and the good Michael Hosea. It is only the Lord. This made me painfully aware of my state without Jesus. There is nothing I can do on my own to make myself righteous. There is utterly nothing I can do to redeem myself from my sinfulness. It is all about Gods love and grace. It is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Am amazed that JESUS comes looking for such a filthy person like me. What makes me sad is the fact that I/we continue sinning and rejecting him though he loves us this much.
2. Another lesson that was so profound when I was reading the book of Hosea – “NO gods before me”. This lesson is also so profound in this book. Am becoming aware of the very many things that I have set up before The Lord God Almighty. Looking at my life I realized things like self, internet, sleep or even fiancé have or are on the verge of becoming gods in my life. And I think it is very important to watch out for these things and many more. I don’t know what is becoming a god in your life? I suggest you check out your life and you will be shocked at what is taking the place of God in your life

All in all the redeeming love of God is something so beautiful. We need to be so grateful for the love that has been bestowed upon us by the Lord Jesus. He always has our best interests at heart.