Unloved

At first glance it looks like a cruel joke. The Lord commanded Hosea to marry an adulterous woman whose name (Gomer) sounds cartoonish to us. Then the Lord insisted that the couple's children should receive prophetic names to symbolize the spiritual state of Israel.

So Hosea dutifully named his son Lo-Ammi, which means "not my people," and he named his daughter Lo-Ruhamah, which means "not loved."

Is there a harsher word than "unloved"? And anything more damaging? Who can calculate all the dysfunction that springs from the absence of love?

Love is emotional fuel, and a lot of people are running on empty. The certainty that we are loved results in security and well-being, while feeling unloved leads to painful problems ranging from drug addiction to criminal behavior, from overeating to depression and even suicide.

Hungry for affection, a teenage girl surrenders her virginity to a guy who uses her body and steals her honor. Driven to prove his worth, a man in his 40s ruins his health and his family by working 14 hours a day. Feeling unloved, a woman trades the boredom of a 20-year marriage for the excitement of an affair. A child misbehaves in school because even negative attention beats thinking no one cares.

Imagine what life was like in Hosea's house. His children paid a personal price growing up in the prophet's family. Surely they knew about their mom's reputation for unfaithfulness. And because of their unusual names, every time they introduced themselves they announced the prophetic message once again. When Hosea called his son Lo-Ammi ("Not My People") in for supper, his neighbors heard the chilling reminder that they were not acting like people belonging to God. And no matter how tenderly he treated his daughter Lo-Ruhamah, it was impossible to forget the sadness of her name: "Not Loved."

The shocking names of Hosea's children were intended to open stubborn eyes about the importance of a covenant relationship with God. Taken as a whole, ironically the book of Hosea contains some of the most powerful words in the whole Bible about God's strong love for his people.

The Lord declares, "I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God'" (Hosea 2:23). Comparing himself to a proud father, the Lord says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him . . . . It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love" (Hosea 11:1-4). If his people repent and return to him, the Lord promises, "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely" (Hosea 14:4).

Centuries after Hosea and his family lived out their prophetic drama, the apostle John wrote, "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). Our Father's long-range objective is not to berate his people but to bless them.

If we grasp the grace of God—if we never forget the price he paid at the cross for us to be his people—then we will gladly wear the new name he longs to stamp on each of his children. It's a name that says firmly and forever, "Loved."