God loves you – sometimes it hurts
The people of Corinth sometimes partook of communion as if it was a normal meal. They came to communion being hungry and could not wait to put their teeth into the bread and have a glass of wine. Therefor Paul warns them and carefully explains how communion should be enjoyed. If they don’t do it this way there will be trouble. God will punish them.
This is a side of God that I prefer not to see. I don’t want to hear that God punishes, because this does not fit into my picture of a loving God who is prepared to do anything to get his children with Him in heaven. I have difficulty in creating a picture of God with a cane in the hand, spanking children a few times. I have to build a bridge and get over this because if people waste their lives and do not live according to His will, God will somehow help them back onto the right track.
32… If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
When we look back on our lives we’ll see the relationship between time spent with God and our well-being. When our lives run without a glitch and hums like a Lister engine, we stay in bed longer and don’t spend special time with God on a regular basis. But when trouble starts picking up, books don’t balance, relationships become shaky, there is pressure at work, the cash flow does not flow, the debtors do not pay or the creditors knock on the door, then we fall on our knees. Now God is good enough all of a sudden.
I always say that I wish to learn as much about God during the good times as in the bad times, because then the bad times would not have been necessary. In a way I am responsible for the bad times in my life, because then I’m forced to make time for God.
We actually have to be grateful for the difficult times because this is when God helps us to make the right choices. This is when we are sometimes forced upon our knees. I know this is unpleasant and maybe this is not what you want to hear. Maybe you want to get a promise that God will take away your cup. Yet it is not. God is not prepared to watch while you crash against a wall. He loves you. God will pull all plugs to lead you to receive the grand prize one day. God wants you to celebrate in heaven with Him.
Do you still remember Heb 12: 6 It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;the child he embraces, he also corrects. God sees the bigger picture. He can see when we are heading for the abyss. He knows where to plant the stop sign in spite of us racing at full speed. He loves us too much to sit back and watch as we head for disaster. Because He loves us, God sometimes intervenes in our lives. When we pity ourselves we have to review our lives and return to God. He will help us to focus on Him and eventually see the bigger picture.
Reflection
Where are you hurting?
Where is God in your life?
Where am I going?
Prayer
Maybe this is not exactly the message I wanted to hear this morning, Father, but maybe it was necessary. It is not nice though. Therefor I ask you to put your loving arm around me so that I may see the bigger picture together with You and become aware of how much You love me. Amen
