As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19
All day, our little boy tried his best to stick something into one of the electrical sockets in the house. He would get his hands on a knife, or a metal toy, or something that would fit into the socket, only to be stopped by his mother just before he reached the socket. She would take the instrument away from him and give his little three-year-old hand a bit of a slap. It seemed only a few minutes would pass until he would be trying to pull that same trick again. Finally, late in the afternoon, his mother saw him approach yet another socket with a butter knife. This time, she considered that an electrical shock wouldn’t actually hurt him much, and just might give him the scare he needed to leave the sockets alone. This time, as he approached the socket, he looked back at his mother, slapped his own hand, and dropped the knife. Never again did he try to stick a knife in one again. He learned without having to suffer from the shock of experience. Sometime Christians need to suffer the shock of experience before we get the message, and sometimes God allows us to be shocked.
There are times when Christians wonder why they have to suffer from a disease, a loss of possessions, or a painful experience. Sometimes, but not always, we go through such troubles because God is rebuking and chastening us. And when we experience such things, we must never accuse God of being unfair or unkind to us. Just the opposite is true. Most Christians who never encounter any difficulties in their lives are Christians who are not very interested in doing much for their Lord. It is those sincere souls who are truly appreciative of their salvation and who truly are interested in serving their Lord who God deals with in reproof. He knows that such Christians will accept the reproof willingly and allow it to shape themselves into a better testimony and into more faithful service.
It is true that the Lord chastens us because He loves us and wants us to become more like Himself. It is also true that He provides more chastening to those for whom it will do the most good. So if we experience His chastening hand today, we can appreciate His great love in doing so. -Jim MacIntosh