LOVE AT ITS BEST 

LOVE AT ITS BEST: IT DOES INSTRUCTS AND DISCIPLINES! 

“And ye have FORGOTTEN the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, DESPISE not thou the CHASTENING of the Lord, nor FAINT when thou art REBUKED of him: 6 for WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH, AND SCOURGETH EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVETH. 7 If ye endure CHASTENING, God DEALETH with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father CHASTENETH not? 8 But if ye be without CHASTISEMENT, whereof all are PARTAKERS, then are ye BASTARDS, and not sons” Hebrews 12:5-8. 

You may not like and love this writ, except you genuinely want God’s WORD to define you for today and tomorrow as you do LIFE and live GODLY by grace, in Christ Jesus’ stead. For some, LOVE is basically about being spoken to softly, taken to the mall for shopping, being showered with gifts now and then, taken for holidays, spoilt with every good thing or goodies while their shortfalls and real-life failings are never mentioned or told them, which would rather help them to amend, braze up, mature and grow in the grace. 

It is unfortunate that many people are in Church without having anyone to strengthen them from their bad behavioural menace and attitudes to the realities of life. When people build their lives on falsehoods and entitlement, and they do not realise the dangers of not wanting the truth, they will always find themselves at the breaking points of life’s deceptions and falsehoods. And some will get to a point wherein they are irreparable, because such LOVE anticipated without discipline for wrongdoing was never MEASURED to them – with the true reality of life: discipline and instruction as the path to do life and live godly by grace in righteousness. 

Herein are three hard TRUTHS among the lot about genuine LOVE one needs to give thoughts to. They are needful in order to help you, and your friend, spouse, colleagues and those you love and cares about: 

1. LOVE with ‘OPEN REBUKES’ – helps to DELIVER and SAVE – Proverbs 27:5-6. 
   “OPEN REBUKE is better than SECRET love. 6 FAITHFUL are the WOUNDS of a friend; but the KISSES of an ENEMY are deceitful” Proverbs 27:5-6. 
   
2. LOVE That ‘CHASTENS’ – helps to MOLD and AMEND – Hebrews 12:5-11.
   “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the CHASTENING of the Lord, nor faint when thou art REBUKED of him: 6 for WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH, AND SCOURGETH EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVETH. 7 If ye endure CHASTENING, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father CHASTENETH not? 8 But if ye be without CHASTISEMENT, whereof all are PARTAKERS, then are ye BASTARDS, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which CORRECTED us, and we gave them REVERENCE: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days CHASTENED us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be PARTAKERS of his holiness. 11 Now no CHASTENING for the present seemeth to be joyous, but GRIEVOUS: nevertheless afterward it YIELDETH the PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS unto them which are EXERCISED thereby” Hebrews 12:5-11.
3. Love that PROTECTS – helps to COVERS, OVERLOOKS, MAKES UP and to EMANCIPATES from further sins and errors – 1 Peter 4:8/Proverbs 10:12. 

“And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for LOVE shall COVER (OVERLOOK, MAKES UP) the multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8 (Emphasis Mine). 

“Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love COVERETH (OVERLOOK) all sins” Proverbs 10:12 (Emphasis Mine). 

God wants us to love while we enjoy His love shed and spread abroad in our inner hearts by the Holy Spirit of love. It is by this love of God that we are saved. And God has commended His Love towards us in Christ Jesus to enable us to live in Christ Jesus’ stead by it. 

SCRIPTURAL THOUGHTS WORTH PONDERING IN CONTEXT: 

“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the LOVE OF GOD IS SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us . . . 8 But God COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:5, 8. 

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not LOVE [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. 3 If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all. 4 LOVE endures with patience and serenity, LOVE is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; LOVE does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. 5 It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. 7 LOVE bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. 8 Love never fails [it never fades nor ends]. But as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for the gift of special knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete]. 10 But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God]. 13 And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13 Amplified. 

SUMMARY:  

Central Thesis: Genuine biblical love is not sentimentality or spoiling. It is God’s love, shed abroad by the Holy Spirit, that saves, instructs, disciplines, and matures. True love delivers through open rebuke, molds through chastening, and protects through covering sin. Without discipline and instruction, love becomes empty sentiment that leaves people broken at life’s breaking points. 

1. Core Declaration: Love at Its Best Instructs + Disciplines

Hebrews 12:5-8 is the anchor: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” The message declares that if you have no chastisement, you are not a son but a bastard. Love at its best does not faint at rebuke; it endures chastening because God deals with us as sons. Hebrews 12:11: Chastening is “grievous for the present” but “yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Kingdom principle: A love without discipline is not fatherly love — it leaves people irreparable. 

2. Warning Against Counterfeit Love

Many confuse love with soft words + gifts + holidays while ignoring shortfalls and real-life failings. That “love” never helps people amend, brace up, mature, and grow in grace. It is unfortunate that many in church have no one to strengthen them from bad behavioural menace and attitudes to the realities of life. When people build on falsehoods and entitlement, and refuse truth, they end at the breaking points of life’s deceptions. Without discipline measured to them, some reach a point of being irreparable. Doctrine: The path to do life and live godly by grace in righteousness is discipline + instruction 2 Timothy 3:16. 

3. Three Hard Truths About Genuine Love

The message presents 3 “needful” truths to help you, your friend, spouse, colleagues, and those you love and care about: 

Love with ‘Open Rebukes’ — Helps to Deliver and Save 
Proverbs 27:5-6: “Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Truth-telling, though painful, delivers and saves. Concealing faults = deceitful kisses of an enemy. 

Love That ‘Chastens’ — Helps to Mold and Amend 
Hebrews 12:5-11: God chastens every son He receives. Earthly fathers corrected us and we gave them reverence; how much more the Father of spirits. Chastening is for our profit “that we might be partakers of his holiness.” It is not joyous now, but grievous — yet it produces righteousness in those exercised by it. 

Love that Protects — Helps to Cover, Overlook, Make Up, and Emancipate 
1 Peter 4:8 + Proverbs 10:12: “Love shall cover the multitude of sins.” “Cover” means to overlook, make up, and emancipate from further sins and errors. This is not excusing sin but refusing to stir up strife with hatred. Love bears, hopes, and protects without enabling destruction.

     4. Foundation: God’s Love First

Romans 5:5, 8: God wants us to love while we enjoy His love “shed abroad in our inner hearts by the Holy Spirit of love.” It is by this love of God that we are saved. God commended His love toward us in Christ Jesus to enable us to live in Christ Jesus’ stead by it. 1 Corinthians 13 Amplified is quoted in full to define love: patient, kind, not jealous/proud/rude/self-seeking, bears all things, believes/hopes/endures all things, never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:13: “the greatest of these is love.” 
Kingdom principle: We cannot give what we have not received. Discipline, rebuke, and protection must flow from enjoying God’s love first. 

5. Tone + Call to Action

Tone: Weighty, prophetic, corrective, and pastoral. It is teaching + exhortation. The message warns against “church without fathers,” confronts entitlement/falsehood, then anchors everything in Scripture. 

Call: Let God’s Word define you for today and tomorrow. Accept open rebuke and chastening as proof of sonship, not rejection. Measure love by maturity produced, not comfort given. Give the 3 hard truths to those you love so they amend, brace up, and grow. Let love protect by covering sin, but never without instruction that leads to righteousness. 

In one sentence: The message declares that God’s love — shed abroad by the Spirit — is proven through instruction and discipline; “therefore, genuine love must rebuke openly to deliver, chasten to mold and amend, and protect by covering [OVERLOOKING] sin, because love without discipline produces believers who shatter at life’s breaking points, but love rooted in God’s love matures us to live godly by grace in righteousness.” 

REV. CHUKIE MORSI