The Grace That Runs After You

“And I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”

Hosea 2:23

I know you've run from me more than once. I know the paths you chose far from home, the times you traded my love for things that promised more and delivered less. And still, here I am, the same way I went after Israel when they traded me for other gods.

I'm not a Father who waits with crossed arms until you decide to come back on your own. I go after you. I close off the roads that only hurt you, I surround you with circumstances that remind you of me, because my love isn't the kind that gives up at the first unfaithfulness. It's stubborn, it's persistent, it's the kind of love that turns 'not my people' back into 'you are my child' again.

If you're walking far away today, know that I haven't stopped calling your name. And when you come back — because you will come back — you won't find a Father demanding an explanation. You'll find someone who never stopped waiting for you, standing on the road.