Nothing robs us (i.e. all people) like sin robs us. All of us desire to live an abundant and fulfilled life in a context that we find delightful and desirable, and more often than not we seek the fulfilment of that in participation of what the Bible would call sin (i.e. something lesser than what God has in mind for us). It took me time to realise that it makes no sense for a Christian to continue in a life of ongoing sin.

It took time for me to realise that my inner desire for life and my inner bankruptcy is not because God was depriving me or punishing me - it was because I loved and continued to participate in the very things that rob me of life while I continued to search for life in those very same things. If it is true that the "wages of sin" is death (Rom 6:23), then of all things sin destroys us most.

There is only one thing that can separate us from God, and that is our own sin (Isa 59). It took time for me to realise that it is not my past, not what happened to me, not my upbringing, but my own choices to disobey God by disregarding the inner voice in my own heart that robbed me of the life I so desperately wanted.

It took time for me to realise that God is not out to punish me for my disobedience: It is my disobedience that punishes me by robbing me of the delight of God's presence. I sought for intimacy in sinful practices, only to find that the fleeting sense of intimacy to be found there only exaggerates and intensifies my inner emptiness. I never realised that my desire for intimacy was only a weak reflection of God's desire to be intimate with me, and that the only stumbling block is my stubborn and ongoing continuation in sin. Its like insisting to drink poison while you desire to live - and to reject the voice of the One who warns you because the poison tastes delicious.

God died to give me a way back to Him and out of sin. His love is not only shown in that great act of selfless love, but already in the fact that He created the garden of Delight (Eden means delight) as my natural habitat. Only sin robs us of living in that garden in an intimate relationship with Him in the very same way it robbed and deceived Adam and Eve.

So my view of sin changed
because my view of God changed;
and I can live a completely new life
because He made a way for me to receive His life
and surrender my life to Him.

Intimacy with God and an open and truthful relationship with Him are indeed far more fulfilling than what sin provided me in the past, but it took me time to realise that the first step towards that is to let go of sin - because sin separates me from the Lover of my soul and brings about an inner barrenness.

It does not make sense for a Christian to continue with a life in wilful sin if God gave His life to set us free from sin (Mat 1:21) If you want to understand the salvation God offers better, read this. You can also read about what sin is.