Discipline

Hebrews 12:5-6 – So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat their children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. (MSG)

We are a pet family. Those who are too will know what I am talking about. Most of our lives, we have had pets — inside or outside, depending on where we lived. All of our children have at least one pet, some more. Pets need to be trained and disciplined — just like people. I often think how much pets are like people. For example, dogs are happy, cheerful, and frisky; cats have an attitude. They are loners, whereas dogs are people animals.

I saw one dog lately that needed to be disciplined. A spanking was in order. Lassie snarled and tried to bite the one spanking her. She didn't like the discipline. She was rebelling against it. Has she learned from it? That is the million-dollar question, of course.

When we, as parents, discipline our children, they don't like it either. Often they rebel. But we see the fruits of that discipline in their lives, and we know that they have learned. We discipline because we love our children and want what is best for them.

Then there are times when God disciplines us and we don't like that either. Often, we rebel as well. Oh, how we should learn from that discipline! It would be so much easier if we would learn quickly what God is trying to teach us. The fruit in our lives is then peaceable. God disciplines us because He loves us and wants what is best for us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your discipline in our lives. Help us to learn from that discipline, knowing that You love us too much to leave us where we are. Amen.