God's Counterintuitive Affinity

 The spirit you receive does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." - Romans 8:15

How many times have I messed up and then been in fear that God will send down a bolt of lightning to kill me because he's sick and tired of my shenanigans? Short answer: too many times to count. There are plenty of stories in scripture of God exhibiting his anger towards people. However, when looking one layer deeper, it evident that God's affinity for his children is enormous. We are not slaves, but sons and daughters. God is a good father who cares about us. He rejoices with us, cries with us, jumps, mourns, defends, laughs, sings, etc... 

A few (thousand) years ago, Israel was turning their backs on God and was about to get theirs. After a couple of pages of what seems to be Israel about to get seriously punished, God responds with this:

"Therefore, I am not going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt." - Hosea 2:14-15

When we are in God, he treats us as his very own children. He wins our love by wooing us, not commanding us with anger and vengeance. There is no better place to be. 

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