Live So You Can Reprove

From today’s reading…

The Lord said to Moses,…

‘You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.

Though you may have to reprove him,

do not incur sin because of him.

Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the LORD.’”

We all know what the words hate, revenge, cherish, and grudge mean. But people really lose their minds over “reprove.”

Lightweight Christians and cafeteria Catholics who want to be Pope, Bishop, and Priest are quick to point out “JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED! GET THE BEAM OUT OF YOUR EYE. HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAN CAST THE FIRST STONE!” 

Enough already. 

“ONE MORE THING. YOU’RE QUOTING THE OLD TESTAMENT. JESUS DID AWAY WITH IT. HE FULFILLED IT. FOCUS ONLY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.”

Are you done? Good grief.

Excuse my while I rip out and shred all of the Old Testament books in my home. I’ll be right back…

On second thought, in Luke 17:3 doesn’t Jesus double down  on what Moses says today?

Jesus did not come to remove or negate the Old Testament, He came to fulfill it.

That means you and I are to love and cherish one another, to have patience with one another, and to live such exemplary lives that we can reprove, rebuke, correct one another when we see our brothers and fellow countrymen straying.

This is the only way to… 

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.