The Lord's rebuke

One thing I have learned is that I tend to read the Bible "backwards". When you are poisoned with a religious thinking it is like you read the stuff that is supposed to be good news but somehow it gets twisted with the glasses you are wearing and it comes off as heavy burdens when it was intended to be joyful invitations. Religion is putting yourself in the centre and asking what you are supposed to do and how you are supposed to act when the Bible actually delivers the exact opposite message: put God in the centre! God loves you! God has done for you what you never could do! Relax! Receive His grace and love!!!! And from that position a new life is going to flow out of you and your actions are going to change as your whole outlook on life is changing when you dare to start living as "the Beloved". Every word in the Bible is being seen in a new light. The words that seem harsh like "rebuke" has to be read from this new understanding of who God is and how good He is. Religious people (myself included) have mis-used the Bible and made it sound bad when it is good! "The Lord will rebuke you" is used as a threat when it is actually Good News! Hey, The Lord's rebuke is the best thing that can happen to you! Because He is Good. Even His rebuke is Good. And gentle and tender and loving and joyful and life-giving! The Lord's rebuke is an invitation to repentance = to turn around to God and find our place as His Beloved again, wrapped in His loving arms. The Bible is often using the picture of us as sheep and God as the shepherd. The shepherd is carrying a rod and a staff to rebuke the sheep as they are wandering astray. With the rod He might hit the sheep to call attention to Himself or save the sheep from danger and with the staff He is pulling the sheep into His arms. The whole purpose of the rod and staff is COMFORT.

your rod and your staff, they comfort me

God is

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

2 Cor 1:3 So the Lord's rebuke is really comfort! He is rebuking us because we are getting it backwards! He rebukes us tenderly. Hey listen, stop striving! Enter into my rest! Listen: it has been completed, it is finished. Your sin has been paid for!

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for

Is 40:1-2 Then He is raising His voice, not in anger, but it needs to be shouted it and proclaimed:

“Here is your God!”

This is what your God is like, this is how good He is. Don't forget!

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

That last sentence struck me this morning as I have a young one. He is extra gentle with us, fancy that. Sooo good.