Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday Thought -- April 12, 2013


Good Morning Friends,

“Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:10-11, 14)

The way we live matters to God. God desires to see a life of holiness developed in us. His discipline in our lives is aimed at accomplishing that goal.

As parents, when we discipline our children, it is not because we enjoy doing it. We do it for a purpose, to help mold the children for whom we are responsible into the kinds of adults we believe they should be. We discipline them for their own good.

The Lord has the same motive when He disciplines us. He doesn’t do it out of meanness. He doesn’t do it because He enjoys it. He disciplines with a purpose, to mold us into the kind of people He desires us to be. He disciplines us for our good.

How our children respond to our discipline affects the amount of discipline they receive. When children have soft hearts and respond quickly to discipline and learn from it, the discipline is lighter and less frequent. When children are defiant, then the discipline must be more severe and done with greater frequency.

How we respond to God’s discipline affects the amount of discipline we receive, too. Respond quickly and learn from His discipline. It’s for your good!

His, by Grace,

Steve

No comments:

Post a Comment