Revelation 3:19 
“I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.” (NLT)

“The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!” (The Message)

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Sometimes, well-meaning preachers and teachers talk about God like he’s a kindly, elderly grandfather who has become lax about the rules and lenient about consequences. There are also those on the other end of the spectrum who can’t wait for God to unleash his anger on every sinner but them. 

The truth is not in the middle. Truth does not live between competing errors. Truth stands the test of time. It is right, just, fair, and compassionate. It is better than we perceive and more wonderful than we now know. 

God’s loving correction and discipline bring about the turning in our hearts and minds that lead us into greater understanding of his will and ways, and greater appreciation of how living aligned and attuned with his wisdom and kindness makes everything better for everyone.

God’s correction is firm and gentle. It is an act of love and not exasperation or rage. His correction is just and helpful. It is an expression of his patience and evidence of his grace and mercy. 

Notice how God invites us to turn away from sins of rebellion and disregard. Notice also what he makes available to us to replace these sin habits. He corrects to move us back into the way of a full and meaningful life. He provides the necessary diligence for us to live life with intention and attention to what makes life beautiful and joyful. 

The turning away from rebellion and indifference is the turning toward clarity and success. There we find what we were always looking for in the trinkets of little sins and the brazenness of the downward spiral into rebellion’s hellhole. 

There is a better way. There is a better day. 

Peace on earth, good will toward all people is God’s constant announcement to those who listen. The gift of Christmas helps us receive God’s loving embrace. Herein lies the present and presence of salvation.

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I will turn toward joy.

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Our Father, thank you for your kind correction and loving embrace. Thank you for making it possible for us to live better lives than we dreamed possible. Thank you for your amazing grace. Amen.