A Safe & Pretty Life?

Some thoughts from the first chapter of Hosea...

Hosea was a prophet and man of God and yet he was asked to do something "sinful" so that God could make a point to His people. Hosea 1:2 says, "When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to Him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.'"

I understand that Hosea was a prophet, however, each of us as Christians, in our own way, is a prophet in this fallen world. We all have something to say and contribute to the people of this earth. Are we letting the Lord speak through us? Am I letting the Lord speak through me?

It says, "When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him…" --- and then the next thing is something that makes no sense. Go and marry a prostitute?! Why? I have to imagine that Hosea had a least a little conversation in his head about this. What will people think? Why do I have to marry this "sinful" woman? Are You serious, LORD? And, yet, Hosea obeys.

I realize that I spend much of my time trying to make things smooth and easy and comfortable. Why can't I give that up? If I am (as I want to be) a woman whom God speaks through, then it would be good for me to be ready to do whatever He asks, even if it goes against the grain. Only as a branch attached to the vine will I be able to do this (John 15).

Am I more interested in living a safe and pretty life than I am in hearing from God, letting Him speak through me and doing what He says?