If I’m afraid of God, I’ve got God wrong. That’s not God I’m afraid of. It’s my confusion. God does not strike fear. Only my confusion can do that.
If I feel shame at the thought of God, I’ve got God wrong. That’s not God shaming me. It’s my confusion. God doesn’t shame. Only my confusion can do that.
If I think God is punishing me, I’ve got God wrong. That’s not God punishing me. It’s my confusion. God does not cause suffering. Only my confusion can do that.
God is love. Actual love. Not “tough” love or “mysterious” love or “conditional” love. God - before my confused and limited stories about what is and what should be - is boundless, infinite, unfailing love. Always.
So I don’t try to please God to avoid fear, shame or persecution (God is always pleased with me), I clear up my confusion by questioning any thought of fear, shame or persecution. And when I am no longer confused, I recognize I have never had anything to fear, I have never had anything to be ashamed of and that I have never experienced a problem except my confusion about the boundless love and eternal benevolence of God (otherwise known as reality, or “What is”),