Romance novels continue to be popular.  Even fiction with a Christian bent has tinges of romance.  Life is a romance, hopefully not all fiction!  Romance involving love and passion,  caring and commitment.  Not all about you-know-what!

Hosea 6 contains some words that catch my attention– ‘Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away’.  The Lord laments that our love doesn’t last even through the morning hours.  Nothing constant in our commitment to Him.

Wishy-washy.  Here today… gone tomorrow.  Faithfulness full of holes like Swiss cheese.  Worship the true God of Israel in the morning, only to find them bowing down to the Canaanite deity Baal in the evening.   Keen on Sunday morning only to live like an agnostic the rest of the week.  That doesn’t compute, the Lord says.

Jesus said we can’t serve two masters( Matthew 6:24).  Joshua said that he and his family choose to serve Yahweh God( Joshua 24:15).  Today, the choice is still ours to make.  A choice made when we ask Jesus into our lives.  But it doesn’t end there.

No,  all throughout our lifetime,  we must choose whom we will serve.  Money?  Or that certain sin we clutch to that winds up having us in its clutches?  One-upmanship,  where life is like a game you just have to win no matter what?  Attention-getting at all costs?

Or the Lord, whom we serve…and love…and submit to?  We know the difference.  With Him today…with Him tomorrow!  The romance is in following the Lord.  Rancor follows a life of sin.  The choice should not be difficult.  I know which side I would love to be on all the time…the Lord’s!  But then reality rears its ugly head, and the face I’m staring at in the mirror is none other than my own!

Verse 6 speaks good news from the Lord– ‘For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings’.  A short verse with a long reach.  Love Him… all the time.  Tell Him that as often as you can.  Good times, bad times.   Love on Him.  A holy romance.  When you feel like shaking your fist at God, raise your hands in praise and adoration. May not feel like it.  Do it anyway.  Settle once for all that God’s Word is the Truth.  Settled.

The Hebrew word ‘know’ can mean sexual union for a married couple, a man and a woman in love.  When God says to know Him,  He means to get close, to be like that loving, married couple enjoying each other in so many wonderful ways.  Of course, it’s different with God,  but He wants an intimate, committed relationship with us.  A holy romance.  The cross of Jesus shows how serious God is about having us close by Him forever.

Prayer:  Lord, we want to be serious about you in our lives.  We ask your help.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.