Jesus knows exactly who you are, and He loves you. He died loving you, knowing you as you are.
He just wants you to understand that. Recognize the love He has for you. He says, “Think about how much I loved you. If you ask me a question about sin, I’m going to give you an answer. But I loved you first. Remember that. I loved who you were first, as a human being.”
Sin brings consequences. Paul talks about it. There will be consequences if you continue to sin. I’ve written a lot recently about how to be a dad, and central to that is the love you have for your children. You love them so much that you’ll take their shame and embarrassment. They will see that, and they’ll respect you for it. It’s because of that love and respect that they’ll want to change.
So recognize the love Jesus had for you when He died for you. Respect Him for it. If you deny that respect, tough times lie ahead. He already died for you. Now it’s your turn to change.
I try to encourage my sons and show them the right way to go. If they deny me and take the wrong roads, I am not going to be the problem for them. There will be problems in their lives, but not because of me.
Here’s an example. I tell my son, “You might not want to cross the street without looking both ways.” I have to say this over and over again. He has to hold my hand when we cross the street.
One day he’ll grow up and cross the street on his own. If he doesn’t look both ways and just walks out in the street, guess what? Eventually a car’s going to hit him. I did not hit my son. But that’s the situation. If he doesn’t listen to me, he’s going to get hit. And it won’t be my fault. It will be his.
I think that’s how God looks at it. When you wonder why God didn’t intervene when you continued to sin, God will say, “I was not the problem. Something bad happened to you, but I didn’t do it. I am not the bad scenario.”
When we reap the consequences of our sin, God is not the problem. We are.
Jeremy Affeldt 
I think as humans this is the hardest concept to grasp; the whole, “where were you, God?” scenario. I think you did a great job breaking this down into “our” language. Thank you for this insightful post.
So true, Jeremy. We always want to point the finger of blame on someone else instead of ourselves. Our first reaction is exactly that, or I should say “my” first reaction is usually that, I don’t want to speak for anyone else. I heard someone say that when you point your finger, look at how many of your fingers are pointing back at you! Ouch!
Jesus Christ is love and He is the same yesterday, today and forever so guess who has to change?! 🙂
Go Giants!!!
God gives us the direction He would like us to go, He gives us the freewill to choose whether or not we follow that direction. It’s just as you stated, if you tell your son to look before he crosses the street and he chooses not to, he’ll get hit. The consequences are on us, not God. Too often, God gets the blame for everything that goes wrong, when in reality the blame is ours. We just don’t want to own it. As well, He gets no glory when things go right because then, in our arrogance, we want to own it. I am thankful for God’s forgiveness and grace.
I’ve had similar thoughts recently. Many people think that freedom is not having any rules, guidelines, or boundaries. In fact the opposite is true. If children and pets live more happily, freely, and securely with loving boundaries, why wouldn’t the same be true of adults?
“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,
I delight in your commands because I love them.”
– Psalm 119:45-47