READING: Ezekiel 5-7, Hebrews 12
“My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or faint when you are reproved by Him.”
Hebrews 12:5
I would be lying to say that I enjoyed being disciplined when I was a kid. I wasn’t a horrible kid (at least as I remember it), but I did enough stupid rebellious stuff that my parents' discipline was in order. I may not have realized it then, but they disciplined me because they loved me. That’s what love does: it corrects others in order to protect them from further harm and to direct them toward success. We thus respect our earthly fathers as they discipline us, trusting that they are doing what they think is best even if they aren’t perfect in the process.
Along a similar line, I would also be lying to say I enjoy being disciplined as a child of God. I know intellectually that God is always right, of course. I also know that He reads my heart, and He never makes a mistake in His discipline. None of that erases my heartache, though, when I realize that I’ve crossed lines and thus brought on myself the discipline of my heavenly Father. It’s just a painful experience, as the writer of Hebrews indicates; it’s never “enjoyable at the time” (Heb. 12:11).
God disciplines us, though, not only because He loves us as His children, but also “for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness” (Heb. 12:10). He corrects us because He is in the process of making us more like His Son (Rom. 8:29) – and that process will not end this side of eternity. Whereas our earthly fathers discipline us “for a short time” (Heb. 12:10), our heavenly Father will continue the process until He calls us home. God has a unique way of correcting us while continually assuring us of His love; His disciplinary hand thus becomes a molding hand at the same time.
I still don’t like God’s discipline, but today’s reading reminds me to take a long view of it. It might hurt at the moment, but God has a bigger, longer-term plan in place. He trains us through discipline, and “it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11). I trust that I’m a better man because of God’s loving discipline through the years.
ACTION STEPS:
- Consider some times when God has disciplined you in the past. Thank Him for teaching you through it.
- Remember that He disciplines us today because we are His children.
PRAYER: “God, I don’t like discipline, but I’m grateful that You love me enough to do it anyway. Thank You for letting me be Your child.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 8-10, Hebrews 13