There are
countless numbers of differences between myself and God and that goes without
saying. As I was praying, a thought came to my mind that I have
never considered before: I love my children beyond measure, there is nothing I would not do for them. However,
if I look at my children sinning, even if I could see their deepest and darkest
sins, how would I respond? Most likely I would be hurt, angry, and/or
judgmental. I would still love them unconditionally but I would pass judgement
on them nonetheless in my heart and mind. In simply viewing them exercise their
freedom of choice, I would most likely sin myself.
Let me
explain this briefly. Their actions might affect me because what they do
contrasts with my values. I may even consider how their actions could embarrass
me if ever exposed, “what would others think?” This is pride on my part. I may
wish to correct them and as a parent, it is my role to help guide them but I
could be overly critical and hurt them deeply. Children need to know their
parents love them no matter what.
Perhaps
their actions would violate beliefs I hold as sacred and therefore, I may
become angry. While sin should offend us, it should be based on its offense
toward God and not ourselves, we should hate the sin while loving the sinner,
unconditionally! If our anger is motivated by how the action affects us, we
sin. This is self-righteousness.
I hope you
get the point of where I am going with this.
One huge
difference between God and me is He sees every sin, mine, yours, and everyone
else’s.
Not only does He see every sin, even those we think are most hidden, but
He does not sin in the process. Sin is anything that violates God’s Law. I know
many at this point will say, “here we go with all the things we can’t do
because God says so,” but if you honestly look at the things that God does
restrict, you will find that they really benefit us (I will try to follow up quickly with some examples and post
soon). It is to our own detriment not to at least look at this before making a
judgment.
God sees our
every sin and while it hurts and offends Him, He still loves us
unconditionally!
I don’t think He
cares what others will think or how this might have a negative effect on Him; I
absolutely believe He cares more about how it will hurt us. If we are saved, we
are already forgiven but our sins can lead us away from the close, personal,
intimate relationship that He longs for. If you are a parent, you know how you
desire a close relationship with your child. Parents who have kids in college
or the military really understand this.
For the
lost, those who have rejected Christ, God hurts because you hurt worse. I know
this may be hard to grasp if you don’t know Him but it’s true. How many of us
want to see our child killed in a car accident, die of an overdose, or die at
the hands of a mugger? Hopefully no parent desires this for their child; God
certainly does not. His desire, why He made us, is so that He will be
surrounded by scores of children that He loves and they in turn, love Him back.
Is this not what we as parents want?
