In my previous post, Lies,
Lies and More Lies (August 21), I ventured into the subject of our
life’s path. Very few of us have the privilege of traveling the path we would
have chosen. All of the talk about finding a dream and pursuing it until we
reach our destination, sounds good in motivational, self-help books, but I
believe many of us have to deal with a different reality. Don’t get me wrong
here! I am not suggesting life is one big pity party, so we should all feel
sorry for ourselves. Personally, I have way, way too much to be thankful for to
get stuck in that place; though, at times, it’s tempting. Beyond our own
personal issues with obedience, which causes us to travel a path of our own
creation rather than God’s, we have to deal with other people, different types
of life pressures, not to mention the whole spiritual warfare component. At
times, it can all be pretty overwhelming. Are you feelin’ me?
In this week’s blog posts I
want to take some time to unpack Hebrews 12:8-18. This is a rich, rich
passage, which is packed with practical truths to help each of us understand
and then navigate towards God’s best path [plan] for our lives. Verses 8-10,
the section of the passage we’ll unpack in today’s post, reads: “If God
doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are
illegitimate and are not really his children after all. 9 Since we respect our
earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully
submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever ? 10 For our
earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But
God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share
in his holiness.” (New Living Translation)
One of the common mistakes I
think a lot of people make with this passage is they connect the word, DISCIPLINE
with PUNISHMENT. For those of us who speak English as our first language, we
impose our definition of the word upon the scripture. Yeah, don’t do that. We
may even start thinking, “Why does God want to punish me? I love him and I
try my best to obey him.” Slow down! The *Greek word for discipline is Paideia
(pahee-di’-ah). Here’s what it means: “the whole training and education of
children; it also includes the training and care of the body; whatever in
adults also cultivates the soul, esp. by correcting mistakes and curbing
passions; instruction which aims at increasing virtue.” (Strong’s
Concordance) Oh, yeah, it also means: “chastisement, chastening (of the
evils with which God visits men for their amendment).” Meaning God uses
pain to change our direction in life! More on that in my next post.
Here’s my point: The
discipline you may be experiencing in your life may not be PUNISHMENT by God,
but PREPARATION from God for the path he’s planned for your life. God isn’t
punishing you, he’s preparing you! According to Ephesians 3:20 God “…is
able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” (NIV) If
we’re limited in our ability to conceive of the “more” God can do
through our life, there’s a corresponding thought that we’re equally limited in
our ability to conceive of the preparation needed. Have you ever thought you
were really ready for something (something at work, or school, or whatever),
only for things to turn into a failure. God is preparing you for fruitfulness
and effectiveness in his kingdom.
Verse 12 nails the point of
God’s discipline (whether it’s punishment or preparation): “God's
discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in
his holiness.”
Stop assuming God must be mad
at you, that’s why you’re going through all the things you are. It may be He’s
mad FOR you! He sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself but it’s
going to take further preparation to develop you for the path which fits his
good plan. God is preparing you to “share in his holiness.” There’s no
way that’s going to be a bad thing. God is good!
*GREEK is the language in which the Book of Hebrews was first written.
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