“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.
“‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
Zechariah 7:11-14 (NIV)
God can’t love us and not hate our sin.
There is no way for me to sincerely love my friend and not hate the cycles of sin I watch her go through that are devastating her life. I cannot love my spouse as one flesh and not hate adultery. I cannot love marriage or genuine intimacy or women as made in God’s image and not hate pornography. And I cannot love my children and not hate their disobedience or ignore behavior that will affect who they become.
For God’s love to be sincere, He cannot delight in evil – what hurts us, our relationships, and His creation in which He delights.
But there’s more to all this, isn’t there?
This week I spent time at a friend’s house who has recently taken in a toddler with neglect and trauma issues. The stories made me queasy. But what that precious boy needs is constancy so his little brain can be rewired for attachment.
Thank the good goodness God made our minds capable of rewiring.
Then I talked with a different friend about the new epidemic in foster care/adoption: families reversing the adoption when kids go through adolescence. When early childhood trauma resurfaces and floods them, adopted children can often become terrors and turn on their adopted parents. And since they can legally reverse the adoption, often parents will.
Oh, but can you imagine being abandoned- again – at that crucial moment? The time when you’re pushing back to see: can I really trust you? Is your love secure?
We have got to know that we know two things in our hearts:
1. That our sin is hatred toward God.
and
2. He will never, ever leave or forsake us
He straight up refuses to help us along in our sin or ignore it. He is too good of a Father for that kind of co-dependency. And He allows us to reap what we sow so we can learn.
But if we are His child and don’t know in our soul no one can snatch us from His hand, we will never rest in His love enough to change our patterns. Fear and guilt will be our motivation, not love.
And love really is the only thing powerful enough to save us.