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Fatherly Discipline

7 Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:7-10)

Going more in depth from yesterday’s devotional, the next four verses compare and contrast God’s discipline of His children versus human discipline of their children. “For what son is there that a father does not discipline?” Any good parent would do their best to raise their children right, which at times, requires discipline and training. “But if you are without discipline which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” God always disciplines His children, because He knows what is best for them. If He does not discipline the individual, then the author challenges them to evaluate themselves, a red flag warning to check whether or not they are truly a follower of God.

Then, in verse 9, if children are respectful to their parents due to their discipline, how much more should believers be respectful to “the Father of spirits and live?” This rhetorical question has a very obvious answer. God, the Creator of all things, who sent His Son Jesus to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin as a permanent way to restore His children, who knows all things, should be revered and respected. He has a purpose for His discipline.

Finally, in verse 10, the author contrasts earthly parenting versus God’s parenting. Parenting on earth is limited to “a short time based on what seemed good to them.” Once a child is grown and out of the house, the reach of the parent’s discipline is limited. Not only that, but, being limited in scope, what they may deem good at the time may not be the best in the long run of life. However, God, as stated earlier, knows all things and directs the believer’s path for their entire life. A lifetime relationship with God will always be a Father to His child. God will never go overboard with His discipline, because He does it “for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness.” God has a specific end goal when He disciplines His children: wanting them to be holy as He is holy. Therefore, may His believers faithfully trust and obey Him, that when He does discipline us, He is doing it out of love for us, wanting us to experience the best lives that He laid out ahead of time.

Blessings,

Isaac De Guzman

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