Wow, this book was intense. I did not want to put it down. Honestly, I've heard about Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers for a while. Especially when I saw people talking about the movie a few years ago. It appeared to be quite controversial in my Christian groups because of the detail the author goes into and I guess the movie does as well. I really wasn't sure if it was a book I wanted to read. I just have to say, I'm really glad I decided to pick it up to fulfill a couple of my reading challenges.
Yes, this book was quite intense. I mean, it is about a young lady who was sadly sold into prostitution at a very young age. During the quite lengthy prologue, as the reader I was already emotionally attached to this story and invested in wanting to know what was going to happen to Sarah who became known as Angel for the majority of the book. The poor girl was dealing with so much rejection and being used.
Then we jump ahead 15 years and discover Angel is now living her life as a prostitute, hardened and full of hate. And Michael Hosea enters her life insisting he is going to marry her, as the Lord has prompted him to do. This story follows the pattern found in the book of Hosea in the Bible. So, if you know that story, you know they do marry and there are going to be times when she leaves her husband and returns to prostitution and he goes after her.
Even though I figured I knew how it was going to play out, there was so much in this story that kept me riveted to it and kept me turning the pages. So much biblical truth playing out in the story. Seeing the way Michael loved Angel self-sacrificially. Trying to show her God's love, which she wanted nothing to do with. Seeing Angel learning to open up and then fighting against it. Seeing her struggling so much during the book. And seeing how Michael struggled with what God was asking him to do.
And then there was the hypocrisy of seeing how certain men treated Angel, even though by using her they are sinning as well. That really got to me. Knowing how the woman is the one who is looked upon with distain, even while the men will come and go with maybe just a guilty feeling, if that.
I love that we get to see God's unconditional love for us. We see God's forgiveness. It's a story of redemption and seeing how God offers grace and mercy.
Yes, there is quite a bit of detail that some will find (and have found) disagreeable or even unacceptable in a Christian book. But I would say the detail that IS in the story isn't as detailed as some made it out to be and the author didn't really get disgustingly graphic. Would I allow my teenagers to read the book. Probably not. But I really think this book is worth the read. Quite emotional. Some intriguing twists. And just such a powerful story of redemption.
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