“Look at your eyes; they’re small in size, but they see enormous things”

Hosea is a book of the Bible that baffles me. Genesis 16 is a story that makes me see Jesus in the realest way I have ever seen him. Psalm 51 tells me that it’ll all be okay in the end. John 11:35 just forces me ask questions that will never be answered.

Hosea is a book about a prostitute whose husband will never walk away from her.

It proves to us that God will never walk away from us.

Genesis 16 is the story of a woman who was tossed out by the some of the greatest religious leaders in history.

The religious people thought she was garbage, but God knew her name and wanted to hear her story.

Psalm 51 is King David on his hands and knees weeping for forgiveness, and receiving it from God.

The man who would have been asked to leave the church for what he did is now the guy we know best as “a man after God’s own heart.”

Jesus wept. He looked over the city of Jerusalem and cried.

God does this thing all throughout Scripture where he starts at the bottom. He walks next to the ones who look like they will never be faithful, and he loves them because he made them. He waits patiently for them to be done with the mess they are making, and he welcomes them back to him with a warm smile and open arms. God picks up the people on the street that the religious leaders deem “garbage” and he learns their names and stories. He uses the ones who should never get a second chance to be every little boy’s hero because of his slingshot skills. He looks over his city and mourns deeply for the suffering that he sees.

So, what will I do next time I’m watching a grown man’s eyes well up with tears because he wants to do better but he just doesn’t know how?

What will I do next time a mother tells me how much she wants a better life for her kids, but can’t walk away from the things that are breaking her open night after night?

What am I going to do the next time a kid is standing in front of me telling me the stories of his childhood and left in wonder of how a loving God could do that to him?

What will I do the next time someone takes advantage of me because they know I care?

How could I possibly respond to someone I know wakes up every morning and just throws her life away because she doesn’t know what else to do?

Hopefully, I’ll let my tiny eyes see they beauty of the big story that is being told right in front of me. God works in the lives of his people, wherever they may be. He laughs, cries, flips tables, and listens closely. Then he loves. He loves fully and deeply, for no other reason than the fact that his people belong to him, and he will never let anything get in the way of that.