LOVE SHOWN THROUGH DISCIPLINE

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
(Revelation 3:19)

MEDITATION:
What are your thoughts about the reason we discipline our children?
It’s partly to teach them, but it’s also because they need our help, right?
Help? Yes, we help them when we discipline them. In their hearts, they
may want to behave, but they need help with developing self-control.
That’s why parents have such a huge responsibility for disciplining
their children.

Does this make it easier to understand why the Lord disciplines us?
When we are saved, in our hearts we want to live righteously, but
we need help. We want to be obedient to the Lord’s will, but there
are many challenges we must overcome; challenges so strong that
we need divine assistance if we expect to overcome them.

Discipline is defined as,
    “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code
      of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience”
Rebuke is defined as,
    “expressing sharp disapproval or criticism
      of (someone) because of their behavior or actions”

The Lord wants us to understand His disapproval of our actions,
and He also wants to train us to obey His rules of behavior. Some
think of God as a divine watchdog with a flyswatter, waiting for
us to mess up so He can ‘whack’ us for our sins.

But that’s not what we see in His letters to the 7 churches (Revelation 2-3).
The pattern of God’s letters demonstrates a loving heart for the wayward
people. He began many of these letters by affirming the good things His
people had done.

This shows us that when we do what is good and right, the Lord is pleased.
But He is also concerned about the faults in our lives. His commendation in
these letters was often followed by words of reproof. Imagine how much they
felt uncomfortable when He would say,
    “Nevertheless I have this against you”
    (2:4 (verses 14, 20))
With these words, God reveals what needs to be changed in our lives.

His actions move us to the real heart of the matter – repentance. When
the Lord told these churches to repent, He was revealing His love for
wayward saints. His goal was not to condemn, but to restore them to
an intimate fellowship with Him. And don’t miss the fact that each
letter ends with a specific promise for the “overcomers”. Clearly God
has a desire to reward those who live lives that are pleasing to Him.

ACTION:
Questions to consider:
    – How do I feel when I am rebuked and disciplined by the Lord?
    – Do I resent His discipline,
       or do I understand the depth of His love for me?
    – Do I want God’s help in overcoming sin and developing self-control?
    – Do I have a desire to please the Lord and ask for His help,
       or do I feel self-sufficient and dependent on my own capabilities?
    – Do I understand that when the Lord disciplines me,
       it can be my confirmation that I am a child of His?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, help me to keep my heart open to what You’re
saying to me today. Teach me to understand that Your rebuke and
Your discipline are expressions of love. Help me to feed off Your
love as encouragement for me to make the adjustments I need to
make in my life. Thank You for loving me with a greater love than
I could ever imagine and for Your discipline that proves I belong to
You!”. Your Word says,
    And have you completely forgotten this word of
    encouragement that addresses you as a father
    addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make
    light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
    when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines
    the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts
    as his son.”
    (Hebrews 12:5-6)

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