Discipline…nobody likes that word. To a child discipline it’s a fear that a parent instills in them, and often makes them cry. To a convict, it’s a way of life, bought about by the choices they make, or made. To a soldier, discipline it’s a way of perfecting their responses, their fighting technique, and their attitude. To a Christian, it’s all of the above.
Ask any man, woman, or young adult with their brains and body intact, and they will tell you that discipline is necessary for their survival in a tough world. Rich or poor, smart or dumb, every person goes through certain disciplinary lessons in their lives. Many times they lose who they are, and become someone greater. Many times, through disciplinary actions, we lose something we deem as valuable in our lives, and find something even more valuable.
Discipline often requires that we give what we do not seemingly have. If we, as Christians, read through the Bible, we get an understanding that discipline is a major lesson that all Christians face in their lives. But unlike a soldier, or convict, the discipline of a Christian is a life-long process, often enduring hardship, and even more often broken hearts, and lives. A true Christian is never, and can never be, immune to discipline.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were disciplined to obey and follow God, yet because they chose to do it their way, they failed. Moses and heard the voice of God, and was at first hesitant, then chose to obey (although at times he failed). King David, whom the Lord chose as King over Israel, at first obeyed the Lord, but yet later on, chose to disobey, and was quickly dealt with, albeit in a harsh way. Jesus was obedient unto death, even the cross. The apostle Paul went through many disciplinary measures…many wrought by the hand of God, and many by the very hand of man, and a few by his own choosing.
As we can see, each of the above examples were disciplined in their lives, and the discipline caused a profound effect on their lives. Paul writes: If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. He also writes; 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. (Hebrews 12:8, 11). Paul knows what he’s talking about, most of his adult Christian life, he often found himself in chains. But the chains never defined who Paul was, rather it was his discpline and his fear of God that was the definition of who Paul was. Paul understood that without discipline the wrath of God unto a Christian can be disasterous, but it can also sear the conscious, and make them a better person, a greater witness, and a greater threat to the enemy.
In the book of Job we read: Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: (Job 5:17). Jogb is another example of how precious God’s chastening is. Although he was blameless before God, he understood, in the end, how fortunate he was to be chastened/disciplined by God.
Let’s be glad that God disciplines us, and often rebukes us when we are really wrong, and that He never stops. Because the day He stops is the day we find out what hell is really about. |
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