He Loves You

“For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Pr 3:12 AV)

For some, this verse comes off as an ominous warning.  Fear God or He will spank you like you have never been spanked.  This is how old-fashioned fundamentalism would teach the correction of God.  We would preach the fear of God into people and not seek to maintain a balance.  Correction is not always a manifestation of God's wrath.  Correction, according to the verse above, is a manifestation of God’s love.  He loves us more than we could ever know.  And because He does, He teaches us the right ways of life.  When we treat God’s correction only as a means to satisfy wrath, we lose the tenderness and love God has for us.  He loves us.  He loves us enough to not allow us to remain who we are.  He has much better things for us than we can imagine.  These blessings are often interrupted by natural circumstances from our ignorance, doubts, or disobedience.  This is what the LORD seeks to change.  We must understand it as an extension of His infinite love for us.

The way I picture this is not chastisement of sin, per se, but patient correction as He teaches us truths and skills to be a better child for Him.  Many years ago, I hosted a big pizza party for our church.  I used to manage a pizza restaurant and when churches hear that, all they want to see is me throwing dough in the air.  I enlisted the help of all the kids.  I kneaded the dough, they dressed it, and my wife baked the pies.  It was a lot of fun.  I tried to teach them how to knead the dough from a rolled ball to a flat pie.  There is a technique.  Finger spreading is the key.  As you press down, you spread your fingers.  This stretches the dough.  If you are really good, you will stretch out the perimeter and then throw it in the air while spinning it to stretch out the middle.  This is what they all wanted to learn.  It took some doing and correction, but they eventually got it.  Flour was flying all over the place.  But they would not have had nearly as much fun if they had not listened and received my correction.

Not all of God’s correction is a spanking.  Much of it is gentile prodding.   Much of it is patient instruction.  Not all of God’s correction is a slap upside the head.  Not all of God’s correction is a great loss of something valuable to us.  Most of it is line upon line and precept upon precept.  Much of God’s corrections are lessons we must learn and apply in order to receive blessings attached to them.  The main thing to remember here is that God’s correction is a big “I love you” from the heart of God.  It is His concern for us.  It is His wish for us that we live the life He deeply desires that we live.  He loves us.  I know I have said this several times because it is so true.  My Father in Heaven wants me to have a life I could not even begin to dream about.  This means I need to be humble and listen.  I need to accept He is so much greater and wiser than I will ever be and that there is much I need to learn from Him.  It is only because of His deep love for us as His children that He takes the time to reveal truth and wisdom so we might have the best life possible.