Tough Love

The Almighty

Take God's love for example . Most love is a two way street . God's is.

God's love is definitely tough love , it's long range , big picture love . If God loves you , you had better pay attention - he has his way of getting to the point ! God's love - biblically speaking is about ( blessings , warnings and curses ) sort of the carrot and stick approach .

Look ...Jericho wanted more time ( who doesn' t ) they were warned. Nope , no answer.

Ka-Boom , was God's response . No Jericho no problemo . By the way , airbags do not really seem to help with God , as Churchill said " it's the kind of mistake you only make once " .

I think the hard thing for me about this story is , I wonder how God feels after the wipe-out .

Me , I'd kinda feel bad actually for the people , but then , I'd think well maybe the next group will have a bit more sense . Hey , who am I to question the big guy. My puny mind against the Creators mind , I may get it wrong then you know , Ka-boom .

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http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/Topics/Love/Love017.html

Love & Discipline

Hebrews 12:4-13

One of the most powerful verses in the Bible is listed in Hebrews chapter 12.

"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." (Hebrews 12:6).

We have a very difficult time connecting love and discipline. We have a more difficult time with the way it is asserted that every son must be scourged. There are lots of lessons to be learned here as parents and pastors but also for each individual Christian. Let's cover several of these points.

• "My son" (Hebrews 12:5)
  God deals with His own children different than those who are not His children. A parent only has jurisdiction over his own children. This is true partly because of his intimate concern and understanding of that child. Genuine Christians are His sons. Each of them are brought through a time of discipline.
  
  
• "Those whom the Lord loves." (Hebrews 12:6)
  The Lord loves His children in a different way than He loves those who do not know Him. From this teaching we gather there are two kinds of love: a general love in which His general goodness is displayed and a specific love for His children. God's actions are different toward His children. If they are unconscious of the way God deals with them, then they will not understand God's actions with them.
  
  
• "He disciplines." (Hebrews 12:6)
  We might wonder why it is the Christian He disciplines rather than the non-Christian. "Is not the Christian better?" The question is wrongly asked. We are better because we are disciplined but still have a long way to go! Discipline is the means that we are better able to do His will. We are deceived to think that His children do not need discipline. Have we found a child among us who needs not discipline? Is your child naturally bent to do good? Doing good is something that we are trained to do.
  
  
• "He scourges." (Hebrews 12:6)
  The Lord gets rough with His discipline. He does not just let us sit idly in a corner. Scourging has the idea of an actual beating with some object. There is no question that no one likes getting a scourging, but it is this actual fact that makes it useful in keeping us from doing foolish things again. If we had not done it in the first place, we would not have received a scourging. In actual fact, a quick and patient spanking can change a child's attitude from haughty to humble in just moments. We will not find this true of 'non-aggressive' means. The purpose is to keep the child from greater foolishness in the future.
  
  
• "Every son whom He receives." (Hebrews 12:6)
  We like to think that not every Christian faces these reproving scourgings. We think they are only necessary once in a great while. Only the most naughty need the scourging. Surely not the refined and learned ones. However, we are totally wrong. If we are God's child, He would scourge us. God in the end is in charge of each of His children's discipline. I have numerous times asked God to discipline His child because I couldn't appropriately deal with a certain offending brother.

Here are a few summary statements:

• Each Christian is enlisted in God's training program. Non-Christians are excluded.
  
  
• God uses discipline and scourging as part of His training process.
  
  
• Love is God's reason for disciplining each of His children.
  
  
• Scourgings are purposeful and not mean or violent.
  ... "That we may share His holiness."
  
  
• A Christian on his own will not do His best. He needs training.
  
  
• The Lord pays close attention to our needs and knows best how to handle us.

The Lord is asking us not to lose sight of God's purpose through our times of discipline. It will hurt. We will be tempted to get bitter against God. We will be given plenty of tinder to start a fire of doubt that will last our lifetime. But we are admonished,

"MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;

God has his purpose in chastising us. We will be tempted to respond in two wrong ways:

1) Regard lightly.
In other words, we do not profit from the discipline. We don't get the point of it. This means that we will need to go through more rigorous discipline in the future.

2) Faint.
The other response is to give up. We are overwhelmed by God's hand against us. This is another way to avoid the lesson of discipline. Instead of getting more serious about improving a certain area of our life, we just give up. Often we disguise this with a veil of criticism against God.

Love will always bring us into numerous encounters with God who is training us. We should not be surprised. Instead, we should be more expectant of what God is bringing. Love is tough because the stakes are high. Give up and the child has no respect for your own ways and habits. Give up and the child will barely tolerate you. But discipline him, and you will find great training from Him.

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http://www.christianindex.org/988.article

God's Tough Love: If God Really Loves Me ...

By Larry S. McDonald, Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, Truett-McConnell College

Published January 20, 2005

Hosea 1:2-11; 3:1-5
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, Feb. 6

When individuals are asked to describe God, often they describe a "Santa Claus" type of figure or a grandfatherly individual. Usually these descriptions highlight the qualities of God's kindness and gentleness, which surely do exist. But while God is kind and gentle, He is also much more. His personality and character go far deeper than these qualities alone.

Too often we describe God as we would like for Him to be, and we do not allow the Bible to fully define for us who God really is. The Bible clearly identifies God as loving. And we generally think of this love as soft and cuddly, like a teddy bear. Yet the Bible also portrays God's love as powerful and dynamic. His love is often evidenced by strength and toughness.

As we study the book of Hosea over these next few weeks, we will especially see God's tough love. Although Hosea offers passages which are difficult to interpret, we must not let these challenges sidetrack us from the obviously clear message of God's tough love.

Love's Discipline (Hosea 1:2-9)

"On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel" (Hosea 1:5 NAS).

God's tough love is first seen as He disciplines His people. Hosea's wife, Gomer, represents the unfaithfulness of Israel to God. Just as Gomer committed adultery against her husband, Israel was committing spiritual adultery against God.

Using the names of his children, Hosea pronounces judgment upon the nation of Israel. The names of the three children communicate the strong correction of God: Jezreel (God scatters), Lo-ruhamah (not loved), and Lo-ammi (not my people).

Just as God disciplined the nation of Israel, He disciplines His children today. When we stray from walking with Him, He works to get our attention and to bring us back to Himself. At times God's discipline may seem severe, but in reality it stems from His deep love for us (Hebrews 12:6). God's discipline is as gentle as it can be, but as harsh as it needs to be.

Think About It ... What would be more loving: For a parent to allow a child to continue in behavior the parent knows to be dangerous, or to discipline that child as necessary in order to teach and protect the child?

Love's Promise, (Hosea 1:10-11)

"Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered . . . You are the sons of the living God" (Hosea 1:10 NAS).

Even in the midst of announcing God's discipline, the promise of Israel's future was declared. The discipline would only be temporary, and then the promise of God's blessings would be realized. These blessings included the multiplying of Israel's population and the reuniting of Israel's divided kingdoms.

It goes without saying that discipline is never enjoyable. In fact, often we doubt God's love for us when He corrects us. Besides the assurance in Hebrews 12 that He disciplines us because He loves us, we must also realize that God's love is not based upon our "feeling loved." Instead it is based upon God's unwavering character and His never-ending promises: He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23)! He has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Think About It ... In your relationship with God, would you describe yourself as having responded faithfully to His love for you? Or, like Gomer, are you still chasing after things with greater passion and desire than your love for Him?

Love's Redemption, (Hosea 3:1-5)

"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods'" (Hosea 3:1).

God directs Hosea to faithfully love his wife even when she is not deserving of his love. In so doing, Hosea illustrated God's love for His undeserving people, Israel.

Redemption is beautifully portrayed by Hosea's anomalous marriage. We stand aghast at a woman so openly unfaithful to a man so fully committed to loving her. Yet we see in Gomer a picture of Israel and, indeed, of ourselves.

Mankind has never been deserving of God's love. But God does not love us because we are good: God loves us while we are still sinners, and He demonstrates that love through Christ dying for our sins (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ redeemed us by paying the penalty for our sins. And by receiving the gift of eternal life through Christ's work on the cross, we truly realize love's redemption.

Think About It ... Can you recall the moment when you accepted Jesus' death as the payment for your sins? If so, would you rate your love and zeal for Him now as great or greater than it was then?

Biblical Truth: Because God loves His people, He responds to their unfaithfulness with disciplinary actions.