Hebrews 12:4-6

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

⁵And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, ⁶because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son,”

A Father’s Discipline

Even though in our generation we are not, as the text says, struggling or resisting sin to the point of shedding blood from external pressures (persecution), Christian life is warfare, and we need to always be ready with the armor of God. In his exhortation to the Romans, Paul says, “none of them can separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:38-39). Likewise, we also need to be careful that external pressures like social media and all the other electronic gadgets that we desire do not separate us from the love of God.

The greatest blessing we have through Jesus Christ is that we are members of God’s family and can call God “Abba Father”(Romans 8:15). We are not slaves but children and hence heirs along with Christ. When we are as children, our Father disciplines us because he is the perfect blend of both righteousness and love. In one IPC testimony, the person said, "I am climbing up the ladder in my spiritual journey, but quite often I climb four steps up and slide down several steps.” This replicates the spiritual lives of the vast majority of Christians. Hence, we need to be disciplined by our heavenly Father so that we might be partakers of his holiness (Hebrew 12:10). The Psalmist in Psalm 66:10 says, “you refined us as silver is refined.” I read somewhere that to refine silver, it is put into fire until the silversmith is able to see his image clearly on the cast. Yes, God refines us through corrections so that as we live in this world we can reflect his image and after that will be with him in eternity. Nevertheless, sometimes corrections feel like punishments.

The most severe punishment was put on his Son, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:5 says, the punishment of our wellbeing fell on him. The excruciating punishment of Jesus on the cross was the Father forsaking his only Son for us. When Jesus said, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?" God had left the hand of his own son for a moment, to hold our hands. Psalm 30:5 says, “His anger is for a moment, but his favor is for a lifetime." Isaiah 54:7-8 says, "for a brief moment I have abandoned you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you to myself. In an outburst of wrath, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion for you." God loves us so much and he wants us to be with him forever in eternity. So, let’s pray like David did in Psalm 139:23-24.

Prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."  Amen.