A FATHER’S
DISCIPLINE
Introduction:
Have
you ever wondered how to train an elephant? The first step is making it believe
it cannot run away. Get your elephant—preferably a baby one—and tie it to a
strong steel stake in the ground, like you would tie a horse to a hitching
post. The baby elephant will try to break free, but it will not have the
strength to do so. Eventually, the little elephant will give up and stop trying
to escape from the rope and the stake that limit its range.
Once the young elephant has learned
that it cannot pull the stake from the ground, you can replace the strong stake
with a smaller wooden one, even though it would not have enough strength to
hold the elephant. An elephant trained in its babyhood to believe that the
stake is strong and will not budge won’t attempt to break loose and run
away—even after it has grown strong enough to yank almost any stakeout of the
ground easily.
Similarly, we are also best trained
in our youth by a strong stake in the ground that teaches us where the limits
are, by certainty about the difference between right and wrong. When it comes
to spiritual training, God teaches us through His Holy Spirit from the time we
got saved. Last week we learned to Keep Our Eyes on Jesus and run the race
that is marked for us with endurance. As we set off to run our Christian race,
let us be aware that we will face a lot of opposition from Satan, often working
through circumstances, our loved ones, and close friends. When the resistance
gets intense, we tend to give up our race. But wait! Do not give up.
The reason why we are to keep our
eyes on Jesus is that He endured much more opposition than you and I could
collectively ever face. The author encourages us to think of all the hostility
that Christ suffered from sinful people, to help us not become weary and give
up.
Today
we will see how God wants to relate with his followers, and part of our running
includes embracing God’s discipline. We begin our study to find what this
discipline of God is all about.
I.
THE FATHER HEART OF GOD.
Heb 12:5-6, “And have you
forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My
child, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he
corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each
one he accepts as his child.” These words come as a father’s instruction to his
son or daughter. (Pro3:11-12).
The audience of the book of Hebrews
was primarily Jewish. Their ancestors were familiar with this type of father
and son relationship between them and God. It looks like those believers had
forgotten entirely, that such a beautiful relationship once existed. The author
was encouraging them to get back into their traditional way of relating to God.
Throughout scriptures, God related
with his people as Lord, King, master, ruler, judge, teacher, and husband. But
more frequently, as a loving father. Let us look at the Father Heart of God. Jeremiah
3:19, “I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I
wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—the finest possession
in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you
never to turn from me.”
Unfortunately, the Israelites could
not live up to his expectations and broke his Father’s heart. Deut 32:5-6, “But
they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely,
are
they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation. Is this
the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father
who created you? Has he not made you and established you?”
Though the Israelites turned their
backs on him and stopped relating with Him as their Father, God as a loving and
merciful father would not give up on them quickly. Our heavenly Father’s love
has been pursuing us from the beginning and will continue till the end of the
age. Remember, one of the names given to Jesus at his birth was “Everlasting
Father.”
Jesus himself addressed God as his Father
and taught us to call God our Father in heaven. The apostle Paul affirms God’s
fatherly bond with his followers. Eph 4:5-6, “There is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through
all.”
For some of you, coming to God as
his son or daughter may bring back specific unpleasant memories of your
childhood. Taking God as their Father may be difficult for others because they
may have never known or lost their Father at a very young age. Whatever your
situation may be, understanding God’s father heart would help you appreciate
verses 6-13.
II.
A FATHER’S DISCIPLINE
Vs.
5-6, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline and don’t give up
when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he
loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” In this verse,
God is portrayed as a loving father. We see the expression of God’s love
towards His children and their response and two action verbs, “discipline and
punishment. Are they the same or different? To whom is God referring to My
child?
Initially, these words applied to the
nation of Israel, whom He affectionately referred to as my son. From the time
of its formation, God loved them. He wanted to deliver them from their bondage
to sin in Egypt and lead them to the promised land. He demonstrated His love
through discipline and punishment. How do we understand these two crucial acts
of God’s love?
What is discipline? It is the
practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior. Discipline
brings stability and structure into a person’s life. It teaches a person to be
responsible and respectful. The observance of well-defined rules is the basis
of civil society. If there were no discipline, people would do whatever they
wanted without considering others first and foremost.” How is punishment
different? If the goal of discipline is to teach, punishment is intended to
inflict consequences for misbehavior and to correct disobedience.
When should these two most loving
acts begin? Who should administer discipline and punishment at the earliest?
God placed that responsibility on the shoulders of parents. The scriptures
encourage parents to discipline and punish their children well from a very
young age.
Consider these scriptures. Proverbs
22:6, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they
will not leave it.” Prov 13:24, “Those who spare the rod of discipline hate
their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.”
There has been much debate over the
interpretation and implementation of these scriptures. However, the essence
here, especially for Christian parents, is that it is your responsibility to
train your children in the ways of God and if they deviate constructively,
correct them. If they are trained well, they may become worthy and respectful
citizens. If not, they may become anarchists like some of the unruly rioters
who stormed Capitol Hill a few days ago.
In our passage, the author compares
the earthly parenting style and how God parents His children. He notes that “the
Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his
child.” In John 1:11-12, we read, “He came to his own people, and even they
rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right
to become children of God.”
No matter who you are, the moment you believe in
Jesus, you will have the right to become his son or daughter; what a privilege
it is for us to know that we are God’s children. Along with that privilege
comes God’s discipline and punishment because He loves us. What benefits do we
find when we embrace our Heavenly Father’s discipline?
III
BENEFITS OF DIVINE DISCIPLINE
Before
we talk about the benefits of God’s discipline, let us find out why He
disciplines us in the first place. Vs. 7-8 As you endure this divine
discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever
heard of a child who is never disciplined by its Father?
If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his
children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at
all.” The essence of this scripture is that God disciplines all his children
without exception. Otherwise, they cannot be his children. When we endure His
discipline, along with punishment, we become God’s legitimate children.
What are the benefits of God’s
divine discipline? Firstly, when we are disciplined, we are being treated as
His children. Secondly, God’s discipline is always good for our souls (Vs10).
Psalm 119: 67-68, “I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I
closely follow your word. You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.”
Thirdly, God disciplines us so that we might share in his holiness. How are we
to respond to His discipline?
Vs. 9, “Since we respected our
earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the
discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? This comes as a
challenge. If we could submit to our imperfect parents who disciplined us the
best they knew how, can we not submit to our heavenly Father who disciplines us
out of love?
You may be asking, so what exactly
would God’s discipline be like? The Bible doesn’t give us specifics in regards
to how He disciplines His children. He
often sends trials and difficult situations on our way to get our attention and
correct our disobedience. When troubles come on our way, count them as joy.
Perhaps God might be disciplining and testing our faith.
Therefore let us not make light of
and resist God’s discipline; it is only for our peril if we did. Is God’s
discipline going to be easy? Any discipline, while it is happening, is not
enjoyable. But when we embrace and endure God’s discipline, rewards outweigh
the pain.
Remember, we all carry inevitable brokenness into
God’s family. God patiently works on our brokenness, teaching precept by
precept and correcting our flaws. He is still working with us; let us cooperate
with Him. Let’s embrace our Heavenly Father’s Discipline. Amen!
