The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them.
Hosea 14:9
The Great Commission is about more than just getting out there and telling people about Jesus. It is about a new way of life. It is about answering the call of God in our lives. Often people who return to God’s house have life stories that reinforce the truth of God in the world. We tell others about our experience with God, or better even, they see our experience with God. These are the impactful lessons that we can share with the world just by following the “paths of the Lord.”
Hosea was a man of God told to marry an unfaithful woman. Gomer bore him children and then ran back to her old lifestyle. God told Hosea to buy her back and keep her as his cherished wife. This life story represents God’s experience with His people and us. He knows we are unfaithful when He creates us. He blesses us with life and families and all kinds of things, only to have us run away from Him back to the world. He then buys us back with the blood of His son so we can live with God forever. This is a love life story that we should heed.
In the last chapter of Hosea, God promises to love His people eternally as they return to Him. We are reminded that the paths of God are true and right and we need to walk or live in them. So how do we do that today? Can we identify the paths of God in our lives and stay on them? How does the Great Commission fit into these paths?
We identify God’s paths in our lives by using three key elements of our faith. First, we have Scripture given to us to help us find God’s will for us in this world. Next, we have His body, the church, set up to support us as we seek the right roads. Finally, God’s Spirit is our ultimate travel guide keeping us on His paths as we are listen to Him. Hosea listened to God and His life became eternally symbolic of the relationship between God and His people. Our lives need to have a deeper meaning too, that only God can provide.
Scripture: Hosea 14:1-9
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