Thought:
If I can extend more grace and mercy to those I love than I think God would extend to me, maybe I don’t really understand God’s love for me.
A common theme for faithful spouses is a willingness to be harder on ourselves than we ever would be on those we love.
We probably would never blame a friend for being cheated on, yet we may secretly blame ourselves when it happens to us. That is why I hammer away so much at rejecting the lie telling us we are responsible–even in part–for our victimization.
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
-I John 3:1a, NLT
What truly loving parent watches their kid for the moment they make a mistake and uses that moment to punish them severely? If we do not do this, then why would we think our loving Father in Heaven would?
Thinking that God is waiting to punish us is to live in a state of fear. This is not what God has for His children (see 2 Timothy 1:7).
I trust God will be gentle with me when I am wrong. And I trust He will guide me through the corrections when I need to make them. My God is not cruel.
