“I led them with bands of human kindness, with cords of love. I treated them like those who lift infants to their cheeks; I bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:4)
Barkley was crying. He had been so fussy all morning. My girlfriend scooped him up, out of my arms and started to soothe him. She pressed his cheek into hers and looked at me, grinning. “See this,” she pointed knowingly at his face. “I used to do this with all my babies. I’d press their cheek against mine to calm them down.”
I gasped. That morning I had been meditating on this verse in Hosea, “I led them with bands of human kindness, with cords of love.
I treated them like those who lift infants to their cheeks; I bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:4)
Once again, God uses a parent-child metaphor to describe his love. Specifically, a child and his mother. This time He is describing his love for the Israelites, who continually disobeyed him. Yet, His love is so great that he describes himself as one, “…who lifts infants to their cheeks.”
May you be quieted by his love today. May your whining be halted and your tears cease. Your striving become rest. Your jealousy be relinquished. May your tears be wiped, as your Heavenly Father picks you up and presses his face into yours. His cheek to your cheek. For you have been – and will be – securely embraced, cherished, and loved.
![Has a post on social media ever made you immediately frustrated? Maybe you even started to think ill of the author of the post. You feel your chest tighten and wonder, how could they have said that? You are so mad you want to click the unfollow button.
[save for reference for when you’re offended]
An offense can happen when someone sins against us, or even if someone just rubs us the wrong way! Often, it comes out of a “right versus wrong” mentality. We get offended and harbor bitterness. Wounds and resentment create rifts and divisions and we find ourselves clutching our anger tightly in our fists to prove we are right.
It’s okay to feel upset when you are offended or sad, but we can’t let bitterness take root. Instead, we must be quick to forgive. As believers, holding a grudge inhibits our ability to reconcile. And when we avoid reconciliation, we miss out on what God wants to do in and through us.
Typically for me, offense stems from pride or self-righteousness. I have received some pretty offensive comments over time, and my feelings do get hurt. But as Christians, we need to be able to “overlook an offense” just like it says in Proverbs.
This passage says it is “one’s glory to overlook an offense.” #chasingsacred (read the rest of the article on @hosannarevival)](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
So awesome Mikella!
Thanks SO much!!!