Love Enough to Confront
Scripture Reading — Galatians 2:11-21
I opposed [Peter] to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Galatians 2:11
During Hurricane Katrina, some government leaders were not convinced that the monster storm was as bad as reported. Aides and journalists recorded television news footage of people clinging to rooftops in flooded neighborhoods and packed into the Superdome in New Orleans. Finally, after seeing how badly the hurricane was affecting so many people, the truth became clear.
There are times in our lives when we need people to confront us, or we will live in denial. Denial of the truth stunts our spiritual growth. Facing the truth head-on can shock us back to reality.
The apostle Paul confronted Peter with the truth, urging him to realize what he was doing. Peter had backtracked to a lifestyle of excluding non-Jewish people rather than accepting everyone fully in the family of God. He was living a life of hypocrisy, but Paul loved Peter enough to confront him about it.
Have there been people in your life who have confronted you on things that needed correction? Praise God for people who sit us down or get in our faces from time to time because they love us enough to confront us. We need people to do that with love when we shrink from doing God's will. It's never easy to face a hard truth, but with God's grace and help we can make the necessary corrections.
<p>Thank you, Jesus, for placing people in my life to lovingly confront my hypocrisy. Help me to see that they are confronting in love, and help me to change for the better. Amen.</p>
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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