“My son despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”- Proverbs 3:11-12
When one is chastened (disciplined) and corrected by God they should never think of it as mean spirited or hateful. These ways are not the motives of All Mighty God when He is dealing with His children. It is not a power trip or an opportunity for the God of the universe to have a little fun at the expense of a weak and powerless human in His presence. NO! When one understands the motive behind the correction they will not despise or be weary in it. Yes, it will be uncomfortable and certainly not a pleasant experience, but it will in the end be a worthwhile and enriching season of one’s life.
Love is found in the heart of correction when the motive is to teach and to change the direction or path that one has chosen that ultimately would have led them down a road of heartache and pain and even dire consequences in some cases. This is the motive of God the Father.
The writer of the Hebrews epistle refers to our verses in Proverbs as a reminder to the redeemed at that time and I hope that it will be a reminder to the redeemed today as well. Let’s consider this rich section of God’s Word and include it in our study of Proverbs. The two walk in unison.
I. Remember to Remember
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, wherefore all are partakers, then ye are bastards, and not sons. Hebrews 12:5-8
God will deal with His wayward children. That is a fact. It is a birth mark of a believer that when we sin God will chasten and rebuke us. I once heard these words, “God doesn’t make it so that we can’t sin, but He makes it so that we can’t sin and enjoy it.” If we don’t want to endure such correction we need to be quick to confess our sins, (1 John 1:9). But thank God that when we do sin we know the love and feel the heaviness of His dealing with us. If there is no chastening or conviction I would put a question mark after that thing called salvation. Remember these words, “Wherefore all are partakers” (of chastisement)
II. Remember the Reason Why
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:9-11
The reason for the discipline:
A. To be partakers of His holiness.
B. To yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
It is for our own good and for God’s glory. At the end of the day God is more interested in us becoming more Christ like than anything else. There is love found in the correction that we endure. God loves us too much to allow us to continue on a wayward path that will lead us in a direction away from Him. The psalmist writes, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Psalm 119:67). Many good things have come from the discipline of my Dad. Spiritually speaking many great things will come when we allow our heavenly Father to discipline us. That is the love found in correction.
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