Gentle Correction

This morning I felt like reading from 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 NIV:

[1] "This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. [2] Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. [3] I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. [4] My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. [5] Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God."

Recently I have been looking at my motives, and my heart in regards to my faith walk and my actions.  I felt like the Lord, was asking me why I was doing or not doing certain things, and it was a good exercise for my heart. As I reviewed my motivation, or lack thereof, I felt like the Lord was gently correcting my heart, making sure that I was working to represent Him, not myself.

I am so amazed at the Lord's gentleness and mercy.  I am amazed that He entrusts His Gospel to people like me?  I am blessed by His intimate knowledge of me and my heart, and how gently He handles me.  He doesn't come blasting in with a list of all the things I am doing wrong, but rather speaks to me at my heart level, asking me questions, that uncover the truth, but in the gentlest way possible.

For example, the other day I was sitting in prayer and I felt like the Lord asked me why I wrote the blog, and why shared my entries on Facebook?  It was a great question and one I spent a few days weighing and thinking about.  At the end of my reflection I had several answers, but the foundational answer was that I was being obedient, doing that which He encouraged me to do.  Now there has been wrong attitude in my heart at times, but the basic reason is obedience.

As I was thinking about this topic, He would continue to ask more questions, each probing a little deeper into my heart and motivation.  He uncovered some spiritual pride, some judgment, some un-Jesus like heart conditions.  In each case I was able to seek forgiveness and repent (change the way I was thinking).  At the end of that time of reflection, I felt like He said it was ok to continue to share, but that I needed to be careful to guard my heart.  There was no chastisement, just gentle probing questions with the opportunity to repent.  Thank You Lord for being so gentle and loving toward me.

So for me   these verses from Paul encourage me in a few ways:

1) I have been entrusted with much, so I must prove faithful with what I have received (See Luke 19:11-ff).
2) I need to keep my heart and conscience pure, and should monitor this regularly to evaluate my own heart motives, with His guidance.
3) I must be careful not to judge anyone else, for I do not know the motives of other's hearts.
4) I must continue to look to Him for His guidance and direction, not trusting my own heart to guide me.
5) I need to recognize that all comes from Him.

I was just reminded of a couple of verses:

1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV: "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

Luke 17:7-10 NIV:
[7] “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? [8] Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? [9] Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? [10] So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' ”


Thank You Lord, again, for Your gentle direction, corrections and guidance.  I pray that You will help me to faithfully represent You, to continue to share the Gospel and to be a servant You can trust doing what he has been asked to do.

Amen