THINK TOGETHER.
Have you been rebuked today (corrected for something you did wrong)?
READ TOGETHER
Proverbs 27:5. Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Nobody likes to be rebuked. A rebuke occurs when someone corrects you when you’ve done something wrong. Likely you’ve been rebuked by your parents, a teacher, or a coach at some point today (or at lots of points).
Solomon is telling us that it is way better to be rebuked by those who care about you, than for others to be quiet and never correct you. He calls this hidden love. When we have parents and teachers that rebuke us for our own good, it is because they truly love us. If they never rebuke us then their love stays hidden, and it does us no good. Sometimes the rebuke comes from our friends. Wisdom means choosing friends who will rebuke you when necessary. Friends who only agree with you and let you get away with bad behavior aren’t good friends at all.
When I was in middle school I had a best friend who would always copy my homework. I would let him because I was afraid to rebuke him. I was afraid to lose my friend. Finally, I decided that if I cared about him I would make him do his own work. I told him he could not copy my work anymore. And guess what happened? He agreed with my rebuke and started doing his own work and we stayed best friends. Now, not every story of rebuke will have a happy ending like this one. But we still need to always be honest with our friends, just like Jesus is honest with us. Jesus rebukes us when we are sinning, doesn’t he? How? Through the Bible, through our feelings (feeling guilty when we sin), through our parents and teachers and pastors. Even through our friends, especially if they really love us and will say hard things to us.
We all need a rebuke sometime, and it’s never fun, but with Jesus we can listen to a rebuke and make changes knowing that he loves us no matter what we’ve done.
Because of Jesus God’s rebuke is always from love and for our good.
With Jesus we can take rebuke to heart and make changes to our lives.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Tell your kids about a time when you were rebuked. How did it help you to improve? How did it help you to trust God?
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus, being rebuked by you and others is no fun, but I know I need it sometimes. Help me to accept rebuke knowing that you still love me. Amen.
TLICfamily 