"This hurts me more than it does you." Have you said those words to a child you love? Do you remember hearing them from your own parent? It's a painful memory, either way.
I remember hearing them from my mother at about 4 or 5 years of age, with dread in my heart. The worst was not a couple of half-hearted swipes received. It was that cold feeling of separation, perhaps the warm feeling of being loved was lost forever. I remember the terrible desolation as she walked away. Sobbing, I would follow her, crying, assuring her I loved her, holding my breath until she picked me up and hugged me and said she loved me. Only then would my world be okay.
I was just beginning to understand my freedom to entertain myself had limits/ When I did something I knew was wrong, there would be a reminder. I thank God for her teaching me the way this world works. Even as an adult, there would always be penalties or rewards, sooner or later. I needed to learn to avoid those tempting things displeasing to her, and later, to God.
The difference is that as adults, after we ignore His warnings of dangerous places or behaviors, God often waits patiently while we dig ourselves such a deep hole we can't get out without His help. And when all else fails, we repent, promising we have learned that lesson. He will forgive us, knowing we mean well but also knowing that more enticing temptations wait ahead, when next we stumble into another of Satan's traps. Like any teacher, He will allow tests occasionally to help us to see how well we do at avoiding that loss of companionship with our Heavenly Father.
Remember the parental warning you never believed as a child? "This hurts me more than it does you"
Remember the coldness of your separation from your Father until your close relationship is resolved?
Remember the cross where He suffered the penalty you earned?
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23
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