Understanding Discipline

Hebrews 12:5-6
My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

I have come to realize that discipline is often misunderstood in today’s culture. Because we live in a world that is focused on hiding flaws, creating the perfect image, and life comparisons we often become hesitant toward discipline. We see discipline as something that points out our blemishes, makes us look more imperfect than we would want to be perceived, and further away from God than we would like to believe.

While discipline may allow us to feel the way we just listed that is not God’s goal at all. We simply don’t understand God’s intentions. The scripture above says that God disciplines us because he loves us and punishes us like a child. His discipline is an investment into who we are going to become. It is not an admonishment because he is mad or attempting to alienate us. It is his way of helping us walk into a deeper walk with him.
The truth is that until we allow God to be our father we can never call ourselves his children. We love to say that we are all his children. It sounds good, but is not true. We are all his creation, but we have to decide that he is going to be our father before we are his children. For him to be our father we have to allow him to discipline us. He desires to help us become what he created us to be but we have to be ready to accept him as our complete and perfect heavenly father.