#DailyDevotion The Father Disciplines Those He Loves
Heb. 12 4In your struggle against sin you haven’t yet resisted to the point where your blood has flowed. 5And you have forgotten the encouragement spoken to you as sons: My son, don’t think lightly of the Lord’s training or give up when He corrects you. 6The Lord corrects whom He loves, and He whips everyone He accepts as His son. 7What you endure is to correct you. God is treating you as His sons. Is there a son whom his father doesn’t correct? 8All sons are corrected; if you’re not corrected, you’re not sons but are illegitimate. 9Furthermore, our natural fathers used to correct us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we much more be willing to put ourselves under the authority of the Father of spirits and live? 10They corrected us for a short time as it seemed best to them. But He corrects us for our good, to have us share His holiness. 11While we’re being corrected, it always seems unpleasant and painful. But after we’ve been trained, correction gives us the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
I wish Christians would read this section more often. They would likely, if they took it to heart, not be so despondent with God nor think of Him as cruel and mean. Too many Christians today, at least in America, have bought into the health and wealth gospel preached on TV, the big box Churches, and the heretical books in Christian bookstores and on Walmart endcaps and special displays. No one uses discernment any longer. Well that’s my rant. I hope you joined me in it and said Amen.
The Christian life is a cross. We live under the cross and on the cross. The cross is shameful. It is painful. It is full of loss. It is everything Jesus promised us in this life. When you became a Christian, when you were baptized and adopted by God in Christ, you became a son to Him. If life seems to be going crappy for you God is treating you like His sons. Don’t believe me? Look at Jesus on the cross. He is the Only-begotten Son of God. If He treats His own Son, begotten of Him from eternity, will He treat you less differently?
God disciplines His sons and you are His sons. Do not treat His discipline lightly or with contempt. Our Maker knows us better than ourselves. He knows what we need to mortify our fleshly desires, to dampen our sinful thoughts and desires, to purify our hearts, minds and souls, and to make us holy. His discipline is really tough. Our fathers corrected and disciplined us. They did what they thought was best. Maybe our problem today is our fathers haven’t disciplined us which is what causes us to go into shock when God our Father does. I have coaches that disciplined me from football, to martial arts, to combative fighting. They have pushed me far further than I thought I could go and I was better for it afterwards.
God our Father corrects us for our good so we may share in His holiness. His discipline, if we do not shun and despise it, produces the peace of righteousness. This is nothing new. For further reading on this go to Romans 5:3-5, 8:18; 2 Cor. 1:3-7, 4:7-18, 12:9-10; Eph. 3:13; Phil. 1:29; James 1:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:6-7, 4:13, 5:1. The Father tried to discipline the Israelites in the wilderness but they would not receive it. As you suffer and undergo many trials, know that this is from the hand of a loving Father who does know what is best for you more than you know yourself. We thought our parents were stupid when we were teens and found out when we grew up they were mostly correct. How much more are we like this as children to the Heavenly Father? We don’t have to wait, we can just trust He does know what is best and we will see it on the other side.
All Gracious and Merciful Father, grant that we receive Your discipline and correction with faith so we may receive the fruit of it—glory, holiness, and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.