Isaiah 53:4-6 English Standard Version (ESV)
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
There is a portion of these passages that our flesh screams; “It’s not my fault!” The words are “pierced for our transgressions”. If we are unwilling to accept that it is our sins for which Christ died, then we are willfully ignoring the free gift offering of salvation. The truth is that we do not go to hell for our sins, we go to hell because we did not accept the offer of salvation by faith. We cannot accept this gift by intellect, it has to be received by faith.
Changing one’s mind does not change one’s heart.
God’s only desire since creating this world and all that is in it was to be loved. He created mankind to love and be loved. God has been showing us how to love and we have failed to love Him as perfectly as He loves us. We can see the first principle of love in His first commandment, fidelity.
Exodus 20:3 English Standard Version (ESV) “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.”
Footnotes: a Or besides
Mankind has known no greater pain than rejection. It is personal and insulting to have the one we love being unfaithful. The greatest and least used title for Christ is Faithful. His fidelity to the Father and to us, His bride, is unmatched.
Exodus 20:3 was not the first thing God said. Love must first declare itself.
Exodus 20:2 English Standard Version (ESV) “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
God declared His love for His creation with only the hope of being loved in return.