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Writer's pictureEast Martin CRC

Loving Discipline

1 Kings 8:46-51

Verse 46  “When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near;”

 

    We talked yesterday about our being prone to sin and while that is important for us to understand it is also very important for us to understand, and even embrace, God’s response to our sin.  This is a topic which is not popular in our society and sadly something the modern church has also found a taboo subject.  People not liking to face uncomfortable issues has influenced the Church to the point of coming to a place of only wanting to see the happy parts of God’s character, but to truly love God we must appreciate all of His character traits.

 

    We have likely heard it said, “Jesus is love” or “God is love” and while those phrases are true, the spirit behind them often hold a weakening of the whole truth of the Lord.  More often than not these phrases are used to say God’s grace means He loves us no matter what, allowing us live in ways which please ourselves, but that isn’t the truth of His love and grace.  While He does love us, His love isn’t passive.

 

    One of Solomon’s proverb says, “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” (Proverbs 13:24)  Solomon’s prayer in our passage today shows how He understood this to be the way our Heavenly Father loves us too.  He doesn’t sit back and ignore our sin because He wants us to be happy, He loves us and therefore must discipline us.  God loves us so much He wants us to reflect His holiness so He can show Himself to the world through us.  When we sin and don’t repent it makes Him angry because it is a sign of our rejecting Him and His ways.  Our love of Him should be reflected in how we live.  In truth, our consistent obedience in all spectrums of our life is our way of accepting His love.

 

    We mentioned yesterday how God had given Solomon a wisdom which surpassed any other human except for the incarnate God, Jesus.  Solomon’s God-given wisdom was displayed best in the proverbs He wrote to help guide God’s people.  A main theme of the book of wisdom is discipline and this wise king pointed out more than once how important it is to accept discipline if we want to be wise (Proverbs 3:11, Proverbs 10:17, Proverbs 12:1 to name a few).  If we love God and want revival, we need to embrace His discipline.

 

Making It Personal

    Have you had a full picture of God’s love?  How willingly do you accept His discipline?  What sin in your life could God be angry with you about?

 

Making It Personal Kids

    Why do you think your mom and dad discipline you?  Should you be doing things you have been told not to do?  Do you love Jesus enough to want His correction?

 

Closing Prayer

    Father, we repent of the times we have not viewed You as we should and have rejected your love through discipline.  Give us hearts which love You enough to embrace Your discipline so we can experience revival.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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