God’s Rules

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.”
                                                                                                – 1 John 4:16-17

You did what?  Seriously, you did that?  Man, you better say your prayers tonight and hope God forgives you.

Sound familiar.  Many people look at God as this strict father in heaven just waiting for His children to mess up so He can banish them to hell.  He put rules in place thousands of years ago and if we break one of those or step across the line we are damned.  This is how some people view Him, and often times the reason many turn away and give up on following Christ.

How sad is it that we truly don’t understand God the Father.  We approach Him as if He is waiting to chastise us, rather than approaching Him as if He is waiting to hug us and forgive us.  What does it say in 1 John 4:7-21 – “God is love and if we believe in Him, love is in us and we will love one another as He has loved us.” {paraphrased}  You see God is not a God of wrath, but a God of love.  Throughout all time people have looked at God as a vengeful, wrath filled God set on punishing those who deny Him.  Flip that around completely.  God is a loving God set on bringing all of His children (all mankind) home to heaven with Him for all of eternity.

Evil exists in this world.  Evil sets men’s heart to see the anger, the wrath and wrong doing in this world.  Mankind chooses evil over God and in doing so, separate themselves from His love.  He doesn’t stop loving you, in all honesty you stopped loving Him enough to sin against Him.  Sin is that which is against the commandments of the Lord.  We all sin, for we are all human.  But, when God is in you, the acknowledgement of sin becomes much more real, and we are told to repent and turn from it. 

God did not condemn you for sinning, God actually provided a blood sacrifice and atonement full knowing that you would sin.  This is truly love, not wrath.  He loved you so much and in His omnipotence and all-knowing authority He realizes that you needed a Savior to be sacrificed.  He came Himself, out of pure love for you, in the flesh form of Jesus Christ, to die for your sins.  A sacrifice for you to be granted eternal life.  He died on that cross, was buried and rose again on the third day to defeat death once and for all.  It is out of this love that God looks at you every day.  His child, making mistakes and learning from them; to be forgiven and granted eternal peace.  He only requires that you acknowledge His Son – Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to repent and turn from the wickedness of the world.

Be Blessed,

Rich

 

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