scattered reflections

I'm feeling reflective but my thoughts are all over the place.

Random thought #1:

I love the God that made you. Or, I love the you God made? Is one wrong and one right? Is one better than the other? Personally, I'd choose the latter. The former seems to carry the connotations of one loving God for what God has done for oneself, seems to imply loving God because one loves a beloved. The latter, however, implies that one loves the person (who may not necessarily be beloved even) because one loves God first. But is there really a difference, or is it just a play of English?

I love the Giver because of the gifts. I love the gifts because of the Giver.

Random thought #2:

".... as if they could escape punishment for their acts when those blind acts are the very punishment they inflict on themselves, far worse than anything they do to others."

I think that line speaks for itself. What does God mean when He says He will punish us? How could a being of love and mercy inflict harm to a person? Well, He doesn't. We inflict the harm on ourselves. Our inerrant ways are in themselves the very punishment we bring unto ourselves:

"The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

Is not a murderer's son labelled as according to his father's crime, even though he himself may be innocent? When we sin, who suffers the most? Very often, it is those who love us and whom we love...