John Koessler, in his sermon "Knowing the God Who Knows You”:

I noticed something about my two sons when they moved from childhood to adolescence. I noticed that my boys responded differently to my touch as they got older. When they were little, they seemed eager to hug me. They would jump into my arms and cling to me with all their might. When they became teenagers, things changed. Oh, they still let me hug them. But in their teen years, they stiffened, ever so slightly. There was a resistance that wasn't there before.

What changed? Some of it, I am sure, can be attributed to the awkwardness of adolescence. Many teenagers seem to go through a stage where they feel uncomfortable showing affection. But I think the change was also a symbol of their growing independence. The autonomy they declared with their body language was matched by many of the choices they made. They stiffened against the constraints my wife and I had placed on them, just as they did my embrace. The rules and standards that we saw as an expression of love and a means of protection, they mistook for a prison.

I wonder—which is it for you, when it comes to God's strong hand of love? Is it a source of comfort to you or something that you stiffen against and resist? Does the inescapable presence of God make you feel protected? Is that steady footfall that you hear the mark of a faithful companion? A guide? A rear guard who has your back? Or do you feel like God has laid siege to your soul? Do you see his relentless pursuit as the pursuit of an adversary?

If we are honest, we would probably have to say a little of both.