Why does a parent tell their young child not to touch an electric outlet or a hot stove. Isn't it because they possess knowledge that their kids lack, and they want to protect them from learning the hard way? Isn't it out of love that they desire to protect their offspring from injury? Would it be fun to get hit by a car? No, that's why parents tell their kids not to play in the street; because they know the consequences would be painful, harmful, and even fatal.
When God tells his children not to touch it's for the same reason. God didn't come up with a list of rules to take the fun out of life, he set boundaries to protect his children. God tells his children not to lie, steal, commit adultery, etc., because these things are contrary to his nature and will have harmful consequences. These behaviors only cause pain. God is not a killjoy. On the contrary He wants us to experience life to the fullest, and that can only be done within the boundaries that he, in his infinite wisdom and perfection, has set.
Just like a child will test their parents boundaries to see what will happen if they touch the hot stove, so we as humans test God's boundaries. The child will learn that there are consequences. Either the parent will intervene with a disciplinary measure, or the child will experience the natural effect of their behavior. So it is with us; either God will intervene to prevent us from going any farther down the path of sinful behavior, or we will undergo the pain that our disobedience brings. Only He knows which will most effectively teach us to abide in him and imitate his Son.
The Bible tells us that only those who trust in Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins will enter eternal life. John 14:6 NIV "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Those who refuse to receive Jesus choose the path of destruction. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
God is good! He made a way for us to be saved; after all "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 NIV. When we receive salvation he sends us help in the form of the Holy Spirit to help us follow him. He disciplines us because he is a loving Father. He showers us with grace and mercy. He gives us his word to show us how to live. Praise be to God who reaches out to us so that we can reach out to him"We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 KJV
When God tells his children not to touch it's for the same reason. God didn't come up with a list of rules to take the fun out of life, he set boundaries to protect his children. God tells his children not to lie, steal, commit adultery, etc., because these things are contrary to his nature and will have harmful consequences. These behaviors only cause pain. God is not a killjoy. On the contrary He wants us to experience life to the fullest, and that can only be done within the boundaries that he, in his infinite wisdom and perfection, has set.
Just like a child will test their parents boundaries to see what will happen if they touch the hot stove, so we as humans test God's boundaries. The child will learn that there are consequences. Either the parent will intervene with a disciplinary measure, or the child will experience the natural effect of their behavior. So it is with us; either God will intervene to prevent us from going any farther down the path of sinful behavior, or we will undergo the pain that our disobedience brings. Only He knows which will most effectively teach us to abide in him and imitate his Son.
The Bible tells us that only those who trust in Jesus as the sacrifice for their sins will enter eternal life. John 14:6 NIV "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Those who refuse to receive Jesus choose the path of destruction. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
God is good! He made a way for us to be saved; after all "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 NIV. When we receive salvation he sends us help in the form of the Holy Spirit to help us follow him. He disciplines us because he is a loving Father. He showers us with grace and mercy. He gives us his word to show us how to live. Praise be to God who reaches out to us so that we can reach out to him"We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 KJV
