This is a picture of the woods behind our house. We call it "The Forbidden Forest". It's beautiful back there but a few years ago we had a major fire rip through these trees and several of the old cottonwoods were burned out in the center. To look at them, they look beautiful and strong, but when you walk up to them they are nothing but a shell. My children would love to play back there, and on occasion, when the wind isn't blowing we'll follow the path to a safer place that wasn't burned, but they know that The Forbidden Forest is forbidden for their own safety. Some may conclude that I'm over-protective, but I've seen these trees fall. Even those that look strong have surprised me by coming down in a thunderous crash unexpectedly.
God knows that sin, though alluring and seemingly harmless, is a deadly thing. He has placed boundaries upon His children that may seem extreme, but He knows the dangers that lie beyond. And He disciplines those He loves to keep them safely within His will. Like my own children, who know and trust my word, we can know and trust God's word. He has given us the warning. It's up to us to believe and trust that He speaks His warnings with love and not for the sake of oppression.
Proverbs 3:11-12
"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights."
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