God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. That sounds really bad, doesn't it? But that's not all God said.

He also told Hosea that by him marrying a prostitute it would illustrate how Israel had acted by turning against The Lord. Gomer, the prostitute, became the image of Israel's sin. She also became the illustration of us today.

She was known as dirty, impure, sinful. She had run away from Hosea to go back to who she had been. Do any of these sound familiar?

The not so beautiful image of Gomer became the beautiful image of God's love for us. If you're like me then you'll understand what it's like to be shameful, guilty, and just dirty with sin. With chains surrounding you as you carry the weight of these words around.

But God doesn't see that. He sees who you truly are, or who you could be.

Not a prostitute

Not guilty

Not shameful

Not dirty.

He sees you as...

His daughter

His beautiful creation

loved by Him

wanted by Him

Free from all your guilt and shame.

Most of all He sees you as His beautiful bride.

The image of being His bride isn't just about His unbreakable vow to us. It's the fact that he clothes us in white. Making us perfect because he is perfect. Saying we are free from all our guilt, free from all our shame, and he calls us by our real name, His.