Remember how the Lord
your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and
test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep
his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with
manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man
does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the
Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not
swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that
as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy
8:2-5
The topic of corporal punishment has come up over the past
week. Many have questioned whether it is
child abuse or not. My belief is that it
is necessary in certain situations. No,
I do not endorse any type of punishment that either injures or causes physical
harm of children. However as a parent
who as a child saw other children that lacked responsibility and control when
those forms of discipline were not in the household, one could understand why
my view is what it is. No matter which
side your view on the topic might be, we all agree that in rearing children,
discipline, corporal or not, is an absolute necessity.
This brings me to discuss how God disciplines us. Just as we remember the discipline we were
given by our parents to aid in our growth to becoming more responsible, God
disciplines us for our spiritual growth.
There are numerous times I suffered at the hand of God’s
discipline. Poor choices led to feelings
of emptiness or dealings with the consequences of those choices. Often we live in the moment where we question
God’s goodness when things are not going are way. However, God always is faithful showing us
love and protection not just in the moment but forever and always! It is with this knowledge that Moses spoke to
the Israelites as they were well into their long journey to the Promise Land. We should embrace the Lord’s discipline the
same way as Moses did; with understanding and appreciation that God loves us
and does things on our behalf.
Discipline is hard.
No one wants to feel the stinging pain and heartfelt disappointment that
comes with it. However, true spiritual
growth cannot happen without it. While
we should never look forward to it, we should be grateful that God loves us enough
to deliver it and feel good knowing that both our faith in and relationship
with God will be strengthened by the experience. How can you be more accepting of the Lord’s
discipline? What spiritual growth can
you recognize from past discipline? My
prayer is that we take the Lord’s discipline with clear knowledge of its
necessity for our own spiritual growth.
Amen.
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