*SPIRITUAL GROWTH ENHANCERS*
Revelation 3:19, NASB: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent."
THE FATHER'S LOVE AND DISCIPLINE
Correction is not hatred. It is an act of love. No one corrects his enemy to become good or be better. A good and loving father will always correct his child going wayward.
In this verse Jesus summons the Laodiceans to mend their ways, to be fervent about repenting.
They need to turn from their lukewarmness and restore their relationship with God. In spite of their wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked condition, Jesus still loves them. He explains that He rebukes and disciplines those whom He loves.
Rebuke involves the act of speaking angrily to someone because you disapprove of what they have said or done. It is the act of speaking angrily to someone because you disapprove of what they have said or done.
The root comes from the Old French rebuchier and means "to hack down," or "beat back." A rebuke, then, is meant to be critical and to chide — in today's terms, a rebuke is verbal smack-down!
To blame or scold sharply; reprimand. To criticize (someone) sharply; reprimand.
To rebuke is to correct. Our heavenly father corrects us as Christians when we are going wayward or contrary with his Word. He corrects us when we are losing sight of Him.
Correction intends to bring us back to order. To seek to prevent us from destruction and deterioration. It is to help us find our path back to the Christian faith and restoration.
A good parent vehemently seeks to correct the misconduct of his children. They do so because they love their children with passion and knows their unbecoming could lead them to destruction. In so doing, they take upon them the stress to punish them for the better.
*How does the Father rebuke us?*
Rebuking or correcting a child does not always involve verbal hack-down. Sometimes it involves canning or some form of discipline like punishment.
David said "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me".
Rod is used for beating. The good shepherd uses the rod to beat up the sheep when it is misbehaving or going wayward.
The staff is used to turning it back to the right path.
Rebuke is very painful because it involves all the disciplines that punish us for our sinful and wrongful behaviours.
In John 2:15, Jesus used the rod (whip) approach to correct the people who were deceitful and using the Church for the wrong reason.
Then He used a verbal approach to rebuke unbelief in His disciples: Jesus corrected His disciples on a boat in a storm by showing off His power and rebuking their unbelief. He told them, “O ye men of little faith.” He then stilled the wind and the waves with a rebuke (Matt. 8:23-27).
To rebuke someone is to criticize him or her pointedly, for a particular observed sinful behaviour.
The Greek word most often translated as “rebuke” in the New Testament is elegchó. In its most comprehensive understanding, elegchó means “to reprimand and convict by exposing (sometimes publicly) a wrong.”
There are moments when we all should be rebuked if we fall into sin, and there are times when a believer needs to rebuke another believer with love and discernment.
Sometimes, God uses a hard trial or a physical affliction to discipline His erring children, but He exercises the discipline as a loving father.
Hebrews 12:10 explains that fathers discipline their children for a short time as it seems best to them, but our heavenly Father disciplines us for our own good, that we may share His holiness. Further, although the discipline is painful, it doesn't last forever, and it produces righteousness in us (Hebrews 12:11).
When we undergo discipline, we should not think God has abandoned us. Indeed, He is investing time in our spiritual education. His purpose is not to make us bitter but to make us better.
God's rebuking us as a Father will always end us well. God will use the rod of affliction and other uncomfortable disciplines to always save us back from backsliding and wrongful behaviours that can land us into more danger and the destruction of our lives.
Jesus rebukes us when we are going contrary to His will and divine planning for our lives. We should get closer to our God often times, humble ourselves, seek His face, read His holy Word and pray more amid affliction and discipline because it will for sure end in praise. He corrected David the rest! They all ended in praise. Yours will most definitely end in praise, in Jesus mighty name.
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