When I was very small, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ apartment in Chicago. I must have been about 3 when this happened.
Granny and Paw Paw’s home was not particularly child friendly. I remember it being fairly elegant, with porcelain figurines on various tables. On this occasion, I had made myself a “gym” between the couch and the coffee table. With a hand on each surface, I swung my legs back and forth up into the air.
“Be careful, honey,” Paw Paw said. “You are going to hurt yourself.”
Moments later, I slipped. Something crashed, and I fled.
Granny found me, tucked as far back into the bedroom closet as I could go. My first words were, “Is Paw Paw mad at me?”
“No,” Granny smiled. “Paw Paw is not mad at you.”
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Looking at this memory with adult eyes, I notice several things. First, our first response to wrongdoing is fear. The second is to hide. Adam and Eve hid from God, as unsuccessfully as I did from my grandparents.
Third, Granny came to find me, just as God came to find Adam and Eve. He insisted on maintaining the relationship. And, finally, He took the consequences of their actions upon Himself on the cross. I have no idea what I broke. I just know that no one ever mentioned it again.
Paw Paw was not mad at me. And God isn’t either.
The truth is, every reason God had for being angry with us
was dealt with at Calvary.
Our forgiveness is so complete that God is not only free to love us,
he can like us as well . . .
If you have placed your trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,
the Bible says you are positionally in Christ.
And once you were placed into Christ,
you were separated from the guilt that once brought divine condemnation . . .
Now you are free!
Charles Stanley, A Touch of His Wisdom
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus …
Romans 8:1-2 KJV