In continuation my last post, I'd like to spend a bit more time thinking about the analogy for describing God's relationship to us, humankind. First, I'd like to say that for all benefits of systematic theology, & the are quite significant, nowhere has God ever stated that his ways are understandable to men, or claimed to specify the technical details of life, death, & spirituality that people split hairs on endlessly. It seems that 1) they are incomprehensible to our understanding & 2) what's important for us to know is far simpler to grasp. So on with the analogies!
I said that God allows us to choose him or reject him. The best example of this comes from Hosea. Hosea was the prophet whose wife was relentlessly unfaithful to him. Hosea married her, knowing that she was a prostitute and would have illegitimate children. Despite Gomer's rampant adultery & whoring, Hosea buys her out of slavery to redeem her. God shows that Hosea's life is an illustration of how God relates to his people.
Maybe Hosea's story is too extreme to relate to. Instead, just think that Gomer is no longer "in love" with Hosea. Notice that while he goes through incredible lengths to show his wife love, and though he has shown her more grace than she could ever pay back in her life, he still does not control her. He did not take her back by force, or abusively control her. He acted in self-sacrificial love. And Hosea, like God, says what should be the response to such incredible patience & sacrifice; complete faithfulness.
This is one of the most fleshed out, relatable analogies of God's relationship to mankind in Scripture. We know heartbreak & humiliation because we see it around us every day. The essential ingredient is the choice to obey or forsake Him. Either seek or ignore. God does not create puppets to humiliate him or reject him, he takes the risk that allows for a real reciprocal (if infinitely lopsided) relationship to occur. The twists and turns of this are, admittedly, messy. But it's the best foundation we've got.
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