GOD'S DISCIPLINE
They disciplined us for this short life according to their lights; but he does so for our true welfare, so that we may share his holiness. Heb. 12:10, N.E.B.
Imagine a father about to spank his misbehaving son. The distraught boy pleads for his dad to explain why this is necessary (probably more as a stalling tactic than as a quest for understanding). But Dad takes him seriously and tries to explain.
What would you think if the father were to say, "Son, I'm spanking you because you deserved it"? Or, "The law of the household requires it...and you have it coming"? Or worse yet, "You really annoyed me, and I'm getting it off my chest"?
Though we suspect that many parents do indeed spank their children for those reasons, we intuitively know that they aren't adequate. None of them relate to the needs of the child. True discipline is done for the sake of imparting righteousness to our children--to help them walk in the paths of wholesomeness and blessing. It is not done for the sake of retaliation or merely upholding some abstract code of justice.
And since God is so much wiser than any of us, wouldn't we expect that God is redemptive and educative in all that He does as well? In all His dealings with us as His "misbehaving children," there is no hint of His being merely punitive or retaliatory. His actions are not spurred on by His annoyance with us or with our attitudes. Nor is He indignantly upholding "justice."
God's every action is specifically designed for our benefit. Righteousness (or rightdoing), embraced within our hearts, is His goal for us, and He wisely sets out to teach us how to live in harmony with His very real world. He is not content only to legally pronounce us as righteous; He wants us to think and choose and act in harmony with the principles of righteousness.
The central core of the sin problem is that we have turned God out of the center of our lives. Any remedy that does not restore that is just not equal to the problem. Our wise heavenly Father is not interested in "settling accounts" or "defending His dignity." He is interested in restoring a relationship with each one of His children. Discipline rises to its highest form in His hands: "disciple-ing," winning our free, thoughtful allegiance to Himself.
Should we be content with anything less?
They disciplined us for this short life according to their lights; but he does so for our true welfare, so that we may share his holiness. Heb. 12:10, N.E.B.
Imagine a father about to spank his misbehaving son. The distraught boy pleads for his dad to explain why this is necessary (probably more as a stalling tactic than as a quest for understanding). But Dad takes him seriously and tries to explain.
What would you think if the father were to say, "Son, I'm spanking you because you deserved it"? Or, "The law of the household requires it...and you have it coming"? Or worse yet, "You really annoyed me, and I'm getting it off my chest"?
Though we suspect that many parents do indeed spank their children for those reasons, we intuitively know that they aren't adequate. None of them relate to the needs of the child. True discipline is done for the sake of imparting righteousness to our children--to help them walk in the paths of wholesomeness and blessing. It is not done for the sake of retaliation or merely upholding some abstract code of justice.
And since God is so much wiser than any of us, wouldn't we expect that God is redemptive and educative in all that He does as well? In all His dealings with us as His "misbehaving children," there is no hint of His being merely punitive or retaliatory. His actions are not spurred on by His annoyance with us or with our attitudes. Nor is He indignantly upholding "justice."
God's every action is specifically designed for our benefit. Righteousness (or rightdoing), embraced within our hearts, is His goal for us, and He wisely sets out to teach us how to live in harmony with His very real world. He is not content only to legally pronounce us as righteous; He wants us to think and choose and act in harmony with the principles of righteousness.
The central core of the sin problem is that we have turned God out of the center of our lives. Any remedy that does not restore that is just not equal to the problem. Our wise heavenly Father is not interested in "settling accounts" or "defending His dignity." He is interested in restoring a relationship with each one of His children. Discipline rises to its highest form in His hands: "disciple-ing," winning our free, thoughtful allegiance to Himself.
Should we be content with anything less?
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