Too often in our culture we create an image of God as a lovable Santa Claus who winks at sin. The image is dead wrong. God loves us, true, but He is also holy.
He loves us enough that though He forgives sin when we come in repentance, He takes un-confessed sin very seriously. Quite frankly, sin has consequences both for now and for eternity.
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; —Isaiah 2:19-20
God allowed His chosen people to be overtaken and almost destroyed by invading armies because they turned their backs on Him. He also restored when they came back to Him.
God loves us too much to let us continually get away with sin; for sin harms ourselves and everyone around us. God does not wink at sin.
By Carolyn R Scheidies
From First I Bow