Love or consequences

As God's children, we are no longer ³condemned by God for our ¹poor choices - choices which always result in harmful actions. There is no ³condemnation for those who are in Christ.  

But neither are we protected from the short term consequences of those choices and actions.

These two truths are the positive and negative guard rails that are intended to help guide us. 

Love motivates us to make the right choices (leading to right actions). Fear (respect) of negative consequences motivates us to avoid the wrong ones. 

As God's child, we have no fear of rejection by God but should fear that living contrary to our design always has negative consequences. 

As God's image bearers our choices matter because we are created to love and honor God. To live contrary to this results in harm and destruction to ourselves and others. 

As God's children our choices do not matter when it comes to being loved and accepted. In Christ we are always infinitely and perfectly loved and fully accepted and embraced. 

But as the bearers of God's image our choices always matter and must align with how God designed us and the world around us.

Being fully loved and ²experiencing consequences for poor choices are each as true as if the other does not exist. But because of Christ these ⁴exist together and both for our ultimate gain and benefit. 

For a further discussion on the "anatomy" of motivation click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹By poor choices I simply mean disobedience. Disobedience is the resulting outcome (actions) of our rebellious distrust of God. And distrust is at the heart of our choosing to be our own god. Being our own god was the temptation our original parents bought into that brought pain and death into the world. We still operate this way to this day. 

²God may mercifully suspend the the full consequences of poor choices when we sincerely acknowledge them - i.e. "repent." But there is no guarantee. This would be a supernatural intervention and interference of their natural (organic) outcome. Without His mercy (intervention) the consequences will remain, hence His intervention is mercifull.

Plus only God knows the sincerity of our heart (and what best aids our maturing) and when we truly abandon (turn away or repent of) a poor choice or only pretend to in order to get relief or some benefit. 

God's objective is our drawing nearer to Him, which is a matter of the heart. This results in a change in behavior.

³Why are we no longer condemned? Because Christ was condemned in our place. The very fact that someone (Christ) was condemned means God's law (will, design) matters. It is vital it is adhered to. There are always consequence for violating it (them). Because of Christ stepping in for us and taking the condemnation we rightly deserve,  the long term legal consequences no longer fall on us but fell on Him. Instead of the judgment and death rightly due us we are given forgiveness and life. These were earned for us not by us.

⁴ "Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other." - Psa 85:10