“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

-Hebrews 12:5b-6, NIV

I totally believe God loves us, His children, with an unconditional love.

Our place in God’s heart is not determine by circumstances or our behavior once we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior (see Romans 8:38-39).

However, this unconditional love–a love more perfect than any offered by another human being–still comes with the fierceness of consequences when needed. God loves us enough to discipline us, His children, when we need it.

This ought to scare cheaters greatly when they are prospering. It means God isn’t bothering to discipline them as He does likely does not consider them His children.* Think on that one.

I grow tired of people suggesting faithful spouses ought to love their cheating partner with unconditional love–meaning without consequences.

A natural consequence of cheating and lying is broken trust. Plus, you can still love a cheater and divorce him or her. The two actions are not mutually exclusive as so many of us understand.

Sometimes the most loving thing to do is to divorce a hell-bent cheater so that he or she no longer has continued ability to abuse us. It is an act of mercy for both parties, in a sense.

Unconditional love does not mean without consequences as if unconditional love can undo history. It cannot. History is history. We cannot change our pasts.

But we can write a new future absent those past sins and abuses.

God’s love for us is absolutely unconditional. Yet He is a good father and does not allow us to do whatever we want–especially, when those actions are destructive to us and others.

God loves His children unconditionally but still with consequences.

 

 

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