As with almost every morning this week, I woke up with a lot of things on my mind. I am so very sure that God is doing some major reconstruction in my life. I feel as though each day this week has been a new revelation. It has occurred to me that God has been using old stories as reminders, shedding light on scriptures I've known for years, and using common knowledge of simple everyday life to reflect His relationship with me. This morning it was all about discipline. I had someone ask me yesterday if I believed that when we choose to do bad things in our lives if we will experience more bad things as a result of God's "punishment". After thinking about it much of the night, I found myself coming to a conclusion that I myself was a bit surprised by. I don't like the word punish, but yes, I do believe that God disciplines us. Being a parent now, I have to discipline my son in order for him to understand right from wrong. What kind of parent would I be if I let my son's bad behavior go unnoticed? Or undisciplined? And furthermore, what would that do for my son? He would grow up thinking that it's OK to behave badly, to hurt other people, and to do whatever he wants. In retrospect, that is how God is. He revealed to me that what God of a God would He be if we were never disciplined as His children. Because aren't we all God's children? We have the free will to choose what we do in our lives. But will it go unnoticed? No. God is an all knowing God and for those of us who believe and still choose to do wrong, I believe God will discipline. It is true that what we reap is what we sow. We sow seeds that are sinful we will reap the consequences that come from those seeds. You plant a weeds seed and what will you get? Weeds. You plant a flowers seed and what will you get? A flower. "And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness." James 3:18 That is just one example. So do I believe that God disciplines us for making bad choices? Yes. But God is a loving God who's discipline is also done in love. Just like that of any parents should be with their children.
2 comments:
Excellent thoughts...something I've been convicted about for the past few years is discipline. Self-discipline, really, but reading your post I realized how much the two - God's discipline and self-discipline - are intertwined.
If we learn self-discipline, there's less of a need for God to discipline us, which I think makes God quite happy. His perfect will is for us to know how to handle ourselves, but when don't learn these very basic things, he has to keep on doing it for us. I know you want Camden to grow up to be a self-sufficient, intelligent, well-mannered, compassionate Christian man. But these are not all things we learn on our own. Sometimes we may have characteristics that make us more ambitious or gentle or smart than others might be, but no one acquires all the fruits of the Spirit at birth. So discipline, then self-discipline, are required.
Another interesting thing to think about is the root of "discipline" : "disciple". As adult Christians, we're meant to be disciples and offer discipleship. One tall order to fill.
WOW! There is so much to chew on when in comes to discipline. I too understand the struggle with self-dicipline. If we were to have a better grasp at our own self-discipline, how much easier it would be for our Heavenly Father. I pray that we are Godly examples of discipline so that learning self discipline for Camden will be a little easier. Only time will tell, but in the mean time I'll leave it in God's hands.
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