Lets start with a scripture that most people have heard:
John 3:16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
If you look at this you will see, it is because God loves us, not to condemn us.
So you say: You always hear that, but God wants to punish us for doing wrong. Right?
I don't think so. Just look at the two greatest commandments. GREATEST means most important.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
First: What is love?
The love in this case is a love of choice, not a feely kind of love. In short it means we treat others the same way we want to be treated.
Why is this so important? It gives everyone the ultimate freedom.
Then why all the rules?
You only need the two rules, the two we just read.
Then how are we supposed to have fun?
God tries to protect us from each other and ourselves that is why sometimes it seems God is not allowing us to do certain things. It is always with everyone's best interest in mind.
How is that?
One person's freedom can suppress another's. The liberties we take cannot and should not affect people around us in a negative way.
What about people I don't like? Lets think about that for a minute……………. Do we want people that don't like us to treat us with respect? I would hope they would.
The point:
God loves us and only wants what is best for us. In order for him to be able to do this, he had to establish some boundaries. But if you look at the scripture we read above, it is really very simple. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated.
Why does God do the things he does? He wants the best for us.
