At seminary there are a lot of traditions, some of which involve Valentine's Day. Every year, there is a big dinner and dance for students and their wives. The menu for the evening is elevated well above the typical cafeteria fare, decorations are put up and tables hold special floral arrangements, the lights are dimmed, the mood is set, and the soupy St Louis air grows even heavier with love. As this was going on, I could be found elsewhere on campus. The more important Valentine-related seminary tradition involved the single dorm students who had absolutely positively no need for love. We loved the absence of love in our life. While couples sat around tables and laughed at jokes that weren't really funny and navigated the dance floor in the only manner that a future Lutheran pastor can (awkward), we were playing poker, watching sports, drinking a beer, smoking cigars, and feeling sorry for the chumps who had been informed that they would be wearing a tie to dinner that night.
This was the ideal Valentine's Day in my book. Still is. Like I said in Part One, I do not want the sappiness of a Nicholas Sparks novel on my hands. A rising chorus of sentimental "ooohs" filling a movie theater gets on my nerves as much as the sound of people chomping ice (that's an exaggeration, the sound of people chomping on ice is the WORST!) But, the story of love that flows out of the book of Hosea is one that I cling to with all I've got. Hosea speaks of two loves. The book is best known for a husband's love for an unfaithful wife. Later, it also offers a glimpse at a parent's love for a wandering child (11:1-4). The parent had walked with the child, led the child by hand, stooped down to care for the child, and worked to ease the child's burdens but the response by the child is to reject the love. The harder the parent tries the more dismissive the child becomes. Both relational pictures describe the state of the relationship between God and His people when Hosea was alive.
When Part One of this two-part post ended there didn't seem to be much hope for love. The relationship looked ruined beyond repair. But Part Two moves in one direction, restoration. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He is not quick to give-up on people and relationships, but maintains a loyal, faithful, unwavering, constant, unending love. By His help, the relationship takes a turn (the unfaithful spouse returns to the open arms waiting at home, the estranged child dials the number and says "Mom, dad, it's me!") so that we can cling to the love He gives (12:6). God will speak tenderly and will allure us or win us over by His love(2:15). He will love us freely, unconditionally (14:4), and this love will fill our hearts and soften our hearts and open our hearts and transform our hearts- the Bible speaks of getting a new heart - so that we are able to love Him and one another. Novels, movies, tales of the best Valentine's Day ever... they all awaken you to what you are missing out on, reminding you of what you wish you had. The story told in Hosea points you to the love that is yours - already and always and forever.
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