Text by Abraham Sianoya
Read:
Hebrews 12:5b-6 (NASB)
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are punished by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”
Reflect:
For some of us, our picture of God is a tender, loving, caring Father. And truly, He is. But can you also imagine Him as a disciplinarian, like a father not sparing the rod? Many of us can easily say we are loved by God when we experience His blessings, but when His discipline comes, we second-guess His love just as easily. We say we love God, yet we do not love His discipline.
Hebrews 12:6 reminds us of our correct posture towards God’s loving discipline—that we should not regard it lightly. Why shouldn’t we? The verse explains that we should take God’s discipline seriously because “for whom the Lord LOVES He DISCIPLINES.” So, when you receive discipline, it means you are just as much loved by God. We should also not faint when we are punished by Him, for “He punishes every son whom He accepts.” Do you remember whom your parents do not punish? It’s your neighbor’s children. Hebrews 12:8 says “But if you are without discipline… then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
God’s discipline is as much an expression of His love for us as His blessings, and His punishment, of His acceptance of us as His true children.
Respond:
Have you been evading God’s discipline lately? Perhaps, you’re taking it as “not from God?” Today, freely embrace His discipline that shouts at you “I love you, My child. You are Mine!”
Abraham Sianoya is a medical student in the City of Manila. He has a passion for studying the Word of God to know and fall in love with Him more. His favorite movie is 3 Idiots and he loves watching Aamir Khan movies, anything tennis, and YT videos on great talents from any part of the world.
AUTHOR: Abraham Sianoya