Loving Rebuke

 27 Jul 25

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Life Application Study Bible Devotion


Loving rebuke

To rebuke does not mean to point out every sin we see; it means to bring sin to a person's attention with the purpose of restoring him or her to God and to fellow humans. When you feel you must rebuke another Christian for a sin, check your attitudes before you speak. Do you love the person? Are you willing to forgive? Unless rebuke is tied to forgiveness, it will not help the sinning person.


“So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

———————

Reflections

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬


I have perhaps mentioned this before but I love how it brings across a concept based on love. That love doesn’t just mean accepting one’s mistakes and all but it also comes with loving advices on what needs to be done. Like sometimes it’s just obvious what someone did was wrong but nobody cared enough to tell that person. If the person is totally ignorant and oblivious to what’s happening, that person will never learn. Can we then blame that someone for being out of line? Have we done our part as a loving Christian?


I struggled about this thought for some time. Like you love this someone so much that you look past every single mistake and wrong that the person did. We want to be loving but yet we cannot say we love someone when we condone even the bad behaviours. 


For example, if my son treats vulgarity as a punctuation, I can look past that and still accept him as my son because what comes out of his mouth doesn’t define who is. However, it does speak much of his character and upbringing. So can I condone such behaviours? Yes before I come to Christ and not after.


Strangely so cos I felt it speaks too much of the person’s character and it is also not something pleasant. Because I was using vulgarities like nobody’s business too previously. It sounded really horrible to my ears and I was like, I have the ability to express myself and speak properly correct? Why the need to add in all these? It took just once, to lay the rules in my house. Mum included. And thereafter even outside I don’t hear it from them anymore or really rarely.


I think to truly love someone, yes we accept the good and bad but when there is a chance this person can change for the better, then why not. But if we choose to just keep quiet and not a thing, we not only is being not loving but we also sin against the Lord. But discern the way that it is spoken so that it is spoken with and out of love

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are you fulfilling your priestly role by holy living?

  2 Feb 26 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One Readings: Exodus 29 Exodus 30 Matthew 22:1-22 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people (1 Peter 2:9).  Are you fulfilling your priestly role by holy living? Moses receives directives from the Lord to sanctify Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. The Lord says to Moses, “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests” (Exodus 29:1). Also, God previously chose Israel as a nation to serve Him in a priestly role. “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Whether Old Testament Israel, high priest, or a member of the church-age royal priesthood, God desires His people to separate from the moral contamination of this world’s system. Peter proclaims, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).  Employment Point:  Live acc...
Read more

How are you responding to Jesus’ hospitality as an honored guest?

  11 Feb 26 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One Readings: Leviticus 13 Matthew 26:20-54 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20). How are you responding to Jesus’ hospitality as an honored guest? The triclinium is used for the Passover meal. It consists of three couches. Guests would recline with their left hand supporting their head while feeding themselves with their right hand. Traditionally the two most honored guests at the feast would recline on the right and left hand of the host. John, who reclines on the Lord’s breast, sits at Jesus’ right (John 13:23) and Judas on His left. When Jesus identifies His betrayer, no one hears but Judas, who is sitting next to Him (Matthew 26:25). John repays Jesus’ invitation for eternal life and intimacy by a lifetime of service; Judas betrays Him for thirty pieces of silver. Employment Po...
Read more

He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5).

  16 May 26 Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One Readings: 2 Kings 15 2 Kings 16 2 Kings 17 John 6:1-21 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do (John 6:6).  He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5). Jesus doesn’t ask the above question to Philip because He needs an answer; our Lord knows all things. The Good Shepherd’s question has a twofold effect: It shows the inability of men to meet the needs of mankind and displays the impossibility of feeding the vast multitude. Philip should have turned to Jesus and said, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). This is the first miracle the disciples participate in with the Lord. Amazingly, Jesus provides “as much [bread and fish] as they wanted” (John 6:11). The verb “they wanted” occurs in the imperfect tense, showing continual action in past time. Jesus also had “twelve baskets with the fragments” left over to feed the ...
Read more