God Disciplines Those He Loves

You say, “I am rich. I have become very wealthy and need nothing.” But you do not know that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. … I rebuke and discipline those whom I love. So take this seriously and repent. (Revelation 3:17,19)

The congregation at Laodecia had a problem. They thought that since they had the gospel and they had forgiveness, they did not have to do anything. They could just go about living their lives as if nothing had changed. They were especially focused on their wealth. But God warned them that they were in danger. They knew God’s love. They knew Christ, but they did not want to live as if they did. So God calls them lukewarm. And tells them that he is going to spit them out of his mouth. He says this because he loves them and disciplines those he loves.

God loves us and wants us to be salt and light in the world. He wants us to live by our faith and share our faith with the world. But we like to be comfortable in our lives. We dislike change and often have a hard time with changes to our behavior. We sometimes want to keep our faith to ourselves and not risk offending others by sharing our faith. We do this because of our sinful nature. Our sinful nature convinces us that we can’t or shouldn’t be that salt and light.

But God has already forgiven us even for our sin of being lukewarm. And he disciplines us because he loves us. Sometimes he disciplines us with the consequences for our actions. If we decide to live like the rest of the world, he may discipline us with health issues or pain. Sometimes, he uses fellow Christians to point our sin. And when we recognize our sin, God tells us not to take it lightly. Instead, we should take it seriously and ask God for his forgiveness. Because God loves to assure us that he has already forgiven us as well. He loves to remind us that we are his children. And he wants us to be strengthened in our faith through his love for us. Amen.

The song for today is “How He Loves” By David Crowder Band

David Crowder*Band - How He Loves (Official Music Video)