I always think it’s hard to hear tough love. Whether it is coming at us, or we are being called to give it. It’s never easy to tell people the hard things about them or things that need to change. Not only that, but its hard to find people who will tell you what they think in love.
I mean, it’s super easy to find someone who will be mean to you or to who will tell you what he or she thinks with no regard to how it will hurt you. But it is a rare person who will tell you how they feel because they care and are invested in your life.
Dr. Cox gets his tough love here:
I think challenging people to fully realize their identity in Christ is the greatest calling one can have. Dr. Cox is being challenged to be a better doctor by his mentor. Without his mentor knowing him and what he needed to hear and how he needed to hear it, Dr. Cox would not have heard it or responded to it.
We find the same challenging in the Bible. Timothy is exhorted by his mentor Paul. Paul isn’t mad at Timothy or disappointed, but he knows what he needs to hear and challenges him to be faithful to that calling. We pick it up in 2nd Tim. 4:2:
“Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke and encourage your people with good teaching.”
We are called to correct, and to rebuke. We are all called to encourage and teach. Sometimes what a person needs is a swift kick in the pants. But do it patiently. And lovingly.
Dr Cox took the tongue lashing because he was in relationship with the former chief of medicine. And it’s the same way with us. We just cant go around correcting everyone we see, or else we will just end up having people sing the wrong song at us (um… see the highlights. It’s a good song). It’s about being in relationship with people and loving them well.
So know that while tough love may not be easy, its what we are called to do. And we are called to listen to it as well. Just because we are supposed to listen to it, doesn’t mean that it is always easy to hear. So good luck with that, cause I know I struggle with it.
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