How Can I Say I Love You, If.....?

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This morning I was watching Andy Stanley, pastor of Northpoint Church in Alpharetta, GA.   He was talking about Grace Vs. Truth (message 5 from the Series called "Christian")  and he made a statement that was a "THAT'S IT!" moment for me.  The statement was "Sin has a Gotcha."

I tend to be very legalistic when it comes to sin.  It is very black and white for me ... You have a choice, DON'T DO IT!  Unfortunately, I worry that if/when I say something "out loud" about it, I'm afraid of coming across as being very judgmental, but I really am not judging at all, I am WARNING YOU..... that's where the love is...the warning, because "Sin has a Gotcha".  

Yes, you are free to choose sin but you are not free from the consequences of your choice .... Yes, you can be forgiven but there is still the whole sowing/reaping thing.  If you put water in your car's gas tank you WILL eventually pay the price for it.

How can I say I love you if I see you running full speed towards a cliff and I don't warn you?  "Sin has a Gotcha" and if I see that and don't warn you, there is no love.  

When a mother sees her child grab a handle of a pot on the stove, hopefully she tells the child not to touch it... with as much urgency in her voice as she knows is required to be heard.  THAT is the same urgency I have when I talk about sin.  "Sin has a Gotcha."

This is how I saw it this morning:

Now that I've talked about it, I might draw it differently....... next time.

Pencil/Colored Pencils/Sharpie/Distress Inks