Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:4-11
Do you get tired of hearing that God wants you to do this or God doesn’t want you to do that? Do you resent being told by parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, or even
Christian friends that you need to make some changes in your life? Do you wish everyone would just stop telling you what to do?
Sometimes God uses the people closest to us to discipline us or help us to see when we are straying from the path that God has laid out for us.
Yes, it hurts to hear what they have to say. Yes, it can seem annoying. Yes, it can seem like we’re hearing the same things over and over again. Hebrews 12:11 tells us, “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.”
All that grief and aggravation has a purpose. God expects it to make us better people. He hopes that we will become more like Jesus. He wants to keep us from doing anything that will be hurtful to either ourselves or to anyone else.
Both God and those nagging friends and family are acting out of love.
It’s been said that, “A person doesn’t tease someone that they don’t like.”
It’s also true that, “…the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:6; emphasis added.)
“If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.” Hebrews 12:8
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so much. In Jesus’ name. Amen.