God Loves Us Enough to Chasten Us
Proverbs 3:11-12 cf. Hebrews 12:5-11
The truth of our text is emphasized in five different books of the Bible. In addition to our text, it is also found in…
- Job 5:17—”Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.”
- Psalm 94:12—”Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord…”
- Revelation 3:19—”As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” Hebrews 12:5-11.
The main message of these verses is: God loves us enough to temporarily hurt us in order to help us.
On May 12, 1998, a Norfolk Southern freight train was rolling down the tracks of Indiana at 24 miles per hour. Suddenly Robert Mohr, the conductor, spotted a child playing on the tracks roughly 150 yards ahead.
The child was 19-month-old Emily Marshall, who had wandered away from home while her mother planted flowers in her yard.
The engineer, Rod Lindley, hit the brakes, but there was no way they could stop the 6,200 ton train in that short of distance.
Mohr bolted out the door of the engine room and raced along a cat- walk to the very front of the locomotive. He realized there was no time to jump ahead of the train and grab Emily. So he got down and squatted at the bottom of the engine grill, and hung on.
As the train drew closer and was about to run over Emily, Mohr stretched out his leg like a field goal kicker, and booted her off the edge of the track down an embankment. Mohr then jumped off the train, picked up the crying little girl, and cradled her in his arms. Emily ended up with just a cut on her head, a chipped tooth, and a swollen lip.
Sometimes, like this train conductor, God must temporarily hurt us to keep us from great harm later. The willingness to administer pain to prevent greater pain in the future is a mark of true love!
I. The ASSURANCE in chastening (Heb. 12:5-8).
Partial Sermon: See PDF for complete sermon
One Reply to “God Loves Us Enough to Chasten Us”
This sermon really was amazing. It showed me that Gods love is perfect and so is his chastening. I have never been chastened for something I didn’t need chastening for and I thank God for every one. It has caused me to grow in every aspect of my life, to learn from my mistakes and to use my mistakes to teach others. I also love my Church family. Everytime I walk into church, I see the many faces and know that I am where I need to be. THank you Jesus and thank you Pastor for speaking Gods word just as he has asked you to.