Hosea 6:1

Repent!

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up." (Hosea 6:1)

Thank God that He is a God of a second chance; and third, and fourth, etc. We can return unto Him and He will welcome us with open arms. What love! What grace! The meaning of "return" here is "repent". You see, that is what repentance is, a change of direction, as well as a change of mind. As we find ourselves straying away, and stumbling headlong into iniquity, we need simply to turn around, and go back toward our God; we need to "return unto the Lord." Though he has torn us, He will heal us: though He has smitten us, He will bind up our wounds. There is healing in the Lord. Our greatest need, of course, is a healing of our sin-sick souls, and only God can heal us there; but there is also a healing of a wounded spirit, a broken heart, or a bitter soul. 

"After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." (v.2) This is prophetic. There is a balm in Gilead, the Great Physician, but even after that, there is a resurrection. After lying in our putrid state, after wallowing in the mud and the mire, our God will raise us up. We need to wallow in the mire first though; we need to lie in the gutter of sin, and sleep in our own vomit for awhile, perhaps to appreciate the "raising up" of our souls unto life. We are all prodigals, all gone astray, as the sheep In Isa. 53:6, and "turned every one to his own way," as it were. Come now, let us return unto the Lord, He will be waiting for us, He will welcome us in. All we need is a little humility, and a little repentance, as, again, the Prodigal son of Luke 15. Don't delay, turn to the Lord right away, and be restored into the wonderful sheepfold of Christ's love, and the place of His utmost blessings.

--Marty Dunn

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