2.245 Whom I Love I Also Chasten

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends, it's great to have you with me.

Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. Today, my friends, is a story from the Lord of tough love. How many of you are tough love fans?

Give me a raise of the hand. If you're driving, don't raise your hand. I'm just kidding.

Okay. We are reading this week Doctrine and Covenants sections 94 to 97, as well as Alma chapters 62 and 63, and Helaman chapters 1 and 2, as you transition into that book in the Book of Mormon. In Doctrine and Covenants section 95, we have an interesting set of verses right off the beginning of it.

And I'm actually going to share one today and one tomorrow that are all part of the same sentence. So, verses 1 through 5 in section 95 are all one big sentence. And there are two parts of it.

Today, I am going to give you a part one. Tomorrow, I am going to give you a part two of this sentence. Part one comes in verse one.

So, we are going to start the sentence today and then continue the idea tomorrow. It says in Doctrine and Covenants section 95, verse one: "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation." And, "I have loved you." Now, this one's perhaps a hot topic. This one might rustle some feathers a little bit.

Ruffle, I guess, is the right word. Ruffle some feathers a little bit. The Lord absolutely loves you and me.

No question. And in today's world, we are certainly overblown with how much we should love each other. Love, love, love.

Love everything, love, love. And I think there's a second piece here that the Lord absolutely allows us to see a bit of his pattern, as we talked about yesterday. And that is because He loves us, He is also willing to chasten us for our sins, because through that chastisement we receive a deliverance from more temptation.

My friends, for you and for me, there is a pattern for us to follow. It could come with children in our lives. It could come with parents in our lives.

It could come with siblings. It could come with friends and neighbors. It could come in your calling, perhaps.

Whatever your stewardship is, the Lord establishes a pattern here. Loving someone does not mean loving all the things that they do. There are times in our lives where perhaps chastisement—perhaps a bit of a ruffle of the feathers—opens the door for the repentance process, opens the door for forgiveness to come into someone's life, and ultimately allows for deliverance from the temptations that they're experiencing.

You are going to have to lean into the Spirit about what that means in your life. But I love that the Lord is willing to share with us here that He loves us and that He will chastise us for our sins. It is a zero-tolerance policy.

Somewhere in today's world, we got lost between: if I get frustrated with you or angry with you, I can love you at the same time. And the Lord here establishes a message for us to remember that we absolutely can hold each other accountable. We can let each other know when we've crossed lines or hurt feelings or raised emotions or spoken in anger, and have a bit of chastisement and do it with love.

This is part one of our message. Part two will continue on: what in the world did these people do to bring the chastisement of the Lord? That will come tomorrow.

But today, if you love someone, hold them accountable to a higher standard and a higher bar. Because the Lord certainly does so for you and for me. And He does it with love.

That's all for today, my friends. Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made, and together we will be savory salt.