As Erick wrote in yesterday’s The Silver Lining,” I am not ready to consign America to hell for good, and in the midst of the battle over same-sex relationships, I see many silver linings coming out of the moral decline we are all witnessing.

I still believe that America belongs to God. By that I mean that He has a covenant with her and He is not done with her.

One of the reasons America has such an affinity with Israel is because we see how God deals with those He is in covenant with by reading the Old Testament stories — especially the prophets.

One of my favorites is the book of Hosea. So many people have a false idea of what God is like and see Him as an old, out-of-touch fuddy-duddy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To dramatically depict God’s love for Israel, in spite of her unfaithfulness and love of idolatry, God told Hosea to marry an active prostitute named Gomer. Not a repentant ex-prostitute, but an active prostitute. So, Hosea did as the Lord commanded. And Hosea loved Gomer in spite of all of her sins and unfaithfulness.

Can you imagine such a thing? The audacity of Hosea. Claiming God told him to marry an active, despicable sinner to depict Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. God would never do something like that, would He?

America’s like Gomer right now. And like Hosea loved Gomer, God still loves us.

And no. This doesn’t mean He accepts the sin that we have fallen into. He just helps us find a way to overcome it. Stay tuned, America. God is not done with us.

The Watercooler is always an open thread.