Jun 26

Hebrews 12:5-11
Memorise Hebrews 12:6
“…whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth…“

Some people (and I must confess this includes me when I was a young Christian) imagine God as a nice gentle grandfather who never gets angry, and pampers His grandchildren whatever they do! But we must get rid of such incorrect ideas! Our own imaginations are almost always wrong, as we have inherited Adam’s sinful flesh and earthly nature, and spiritually speaking cannot alignment issue. That is why it is so important to know God’s word well, so we can “think straight, and think right”!

The verse today should have dispelled such nonsense about our God being a pampering old grandfather!

Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth”.

God’s will for us is not an easy, cushy life, without pain or suffering. What He sets for us is a standard that is far beyond any human standards of goodness. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “be ye holy; for I am holy”!

So it is no wonder that we read in the verse today that He disciplines us when we deserve it. If you understand His will, then you would not be surprised. We know that when we misbehave or disobey our parents, they would certainly discipline us. This is their responsibility as parents. They do so not because they hate us and want us to suffer. In fact the very opposite is true. They do so because they love us and don’t want   us to make mistakes in our lives that would only cause us greater pain and suffering.

Likewise when we sin, our loving Father in heaven will chastise us, for He is definitely not a derelict Father. He will certainly give us what is best for us, and that includes discipline when needed. Dear teen, when troubles happen in your life, it could be that you are being chastised of the Lord. We then ought to think - what have I done wrong? What is God’s will?

Thought: It is much better to know God’s will and do it, than to be chastised and scourged! So discipline yourself to know God’s will and do it, out of love.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to be sensitive to Thy Word, both in instruction and in chastisement.