I have
talked about this several times, but it bears repeating…God is God and we are
not...we do not know what His ultimate plan is and why things happen the way
they do. There is nothing wrong with
that. If we knew His plan, we would be
on the same level He is on and I don't want to serve a God that I am on the
same level with…
My God is
mighty and strong…He is the great creator, yet loves you and me individually.
He is also a
God that doesn't like sin. He doesn't
want His children to go the wrong way.
He wants good things for His children.
But, when we go our own way and do it the way we want it, we have to be
brought back to the right place. That
takes discipline.
Last week,
we talked about how God let David know that He knew what had happened and that
it wasn't acceptable. He wanted David to
see the mistake he had made and repent.
There were
harsh consequences to David's sin. God
wants us to be on the right path and do the right thing.
Sometimes
the punishment we seem to be going through may seem unfair or unbearable. We are always seeing things from our
perspective…through our own lens. And
often, what we see as discipline is really not.
It is just all part of a plan and design that we just don't get.
Let's look
at Hebrews 12:11-17 for insight.
When it is
discipline, it is important to remember that God wants what is right and
sometimes that discipline is painful.
But, the
discipline is not just for discipline.
There is a reason for it. We
should learn from it, repent of the sin and become stronger as a result. We use the big 'sin' word in church but not
so much in the world. Sin is basically
when we do something in disobedience or don't do something we should be doing. Sins have a wide range and a sin is a
sin. We judge the type of sin, but in
reality, when we sin, we need to be brought back on the right path.
Discipline
is often painful in order to redirect us and lead us on the right path. What discipline do you remember most when
growing up from your parents? You don't
remember the daily redirections…if you did, you wouldn't have had to have
them. You remember the big
discipline…the time you had your car taken away (I did)…or the time that you
had to do extra chores that took a long time.
You remember
what you did and you most likely made a concerted effort not to do that
again. God wants the same for us.
He wants us
to walk upright spiritually and be able to 'hold our heads up high' and to be
holy. We can't do that unless He shows
us the way. When we go our own way, we
have to be brought back to the proper place.
Our way will always lead to destruction but His way is holy.
Many times,
we don't feel like we should undergo punishment…this is our life and what you
do shouldn't affect anyone else. That
just isn't reality. Reality is that our
lives are all intertwined. The quote
that 'no man is an island' is true. And
especially if we are truly living as Christians, we are living in community.
When we
consider that what we do not only affects us but affects many others as well,
discipline is even more needed. God
hasn't called us to do what we want, when we want, and just to call on Him when
we get in trouble.
Living as a
Christian is a lifestyle. We do the
things we do because of the One we serve…the One who takes care of us and loves
us unconditionally. And yes, we have to
be brought back to a right place so that we learn and grow and become more like
Him.
Our perspective should be an eternal one…not a
temporary one. If it is, discipline is a
way of shaping us into a holy life and inspiring others to do the same.
