Discipline

I have often resented correction. It is rarely pleasant to have my sins brought to my attention — because nobody likes being told that they are wrong, and when imperfect people confront imperfect people, sin can easily sneak into the confronter (and/or confronted) and poison the confrontation.

But, Job cried out in the midst of his agony, “How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. [God], why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?” (Job 12:23 & 24)

In Hebrews 12 we are told that if we aren’t being disciplined, than we aren’t sons of God (vs 8), which is an extension Deuteronomy 8:5, and Proverbs 13:24.

Proverbs 3:12 tells us that God corrects those who He loves.

We are told to be earnest (Revelation 3:19) and to lay aside every hinderance and run the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1) which is the Christian life.

Instead of becoming discouraged or upset when we are corrected, it should give us hope and joy — if we weren’t being chastised it would indicate that we have been abandoned and are unloved by God (death of our souls). It is not wrong to seek out discipline. Indeed, I should be searching for sin weeds in my life to pull. To do so is to find love from Love Himself and to find that is to find life.

As for you, don’t you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air—oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience. I’m not talking about the outsiders alone;  we were all guilty of falling headlong for the persuasive passions of this world; we all have had our fill of indulging the flesh and mind, obeying impulses to follow perverse thoughts motivated by dark powers. As a result, our natural inclinations led us to be children of wrath, just like the rest of humankind.

But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us,  united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace. He raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly realms with our beloved Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. He did this for a reason: so that for all eternity we will stand as a living testimony to the incredible riches of His grace and kindness that He freely gives to us by uniting us with Jesus the Anointed. (source)