Love and discipline

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall
we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:6-10 ESV)

Love and discipline are not two words I can put together very well in my mind.

Love is something warm and accepting; discipline seems cold and restricting. Discipline involves training, setting boundaries, receiving correction, and being chastened. Love implies an unconditional acceptance, freedom, being affirmed, and being encouraged. Love feels good; discipline feels painful. (Hebrews 12:11 agrees.) They seem like polar opposites.

As we are growing up discipline does not feel like love, and in fact a lot of discipline is probably not done in love. When I discipline my children, even when it is for their good, it still feels like I'm being unloving.

Yet how often the Scripture puts these two concepts together: Deuteronomy 4:36, 37; 11:1, 2; 2 Samuel 7:14; Prov 3:11, 12; 12:1; 13:24; Hebrews 12:5-10; Revelation 3:19. Discipline is a vital dimension of God's love:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (--Jesus, in Revelation 3:19)

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Both love and discipline -- from God's perspective -- involves us being treated as children, even though beloved children. Be-love-d children, because we by grace are born of his nature and brought into his family; and disciplined, because we need to grow up to maturity in the image of Christ. To enter into the holiness and glory of God is inevitably a painful, growing up process. But this is the destiny so lovingly planned for us by God.

From my perspective, this means in my love for God I must be willing to accept boundaries, restictions, discomfort, and correction. It means I can't really love God unless I practice self-discipline. Love without discipline is sentimentality. Discipline without love is self-righteousness (or despair). Loving God takes discipline like loving our family involves certain painful things on our part: self-control, sacrifice, limitation, dying to self.

But if we don't do this we should question what kind of love we have for God.

bible reading nov 1-2

Bible reading for weekend Nov 1 -- 2 Nov 1 -- Hosea 7 and Psalms 120-122 Nov 2 -- Hosea 8 and Psalms 123-125 ================ "Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12) THE RESULTS OF SIN (ch 7-8). Notice the words and metaphors to describe Israel's sinful condition: they are surrounded with, and proud of, their evil (7:1-3); like adulterers in the heat of passion (7:4-5); their anger is like a hot oven (7:6-7); they are like a half-cooked (one side only) cake (7:8); their strength is gone (7:9); they are like silly doves easily trapped (7:11-12); they are undependable like a warped bow (7:16). In spite of all of this they are so proud of themselves! (We might say they have a strong self-esteem.) They have spurned what is good (8:3); they sow to the wind and have no real fruit (8:7); they are a useless vessel (8:8) and a wild donkey wandering alone (8:9); they regard God's law as a strange thing

bible reading dec 3-5

Bible reading for weekend December 3 -- 5 Dec 3 -- Nahum 1 and Luke 17 Dec 4 -- Nahum 2 and Luke 18 Dec 5 -- Nahum 3 and Luke 19 ================ "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1:7-8) TIME'S UP FOR NINEVEH (Nah 1-3). The prophecy of Nahum is God's word to the people of Nineveh, part two. Jonah was part one, chronicling a city-wide repentance of Assyrians in the capital about a hundred years earlier. The closing bookend is Nahum, and the Assyrian empire is big, powerful, and aggressive. Notice the references to chariots (2:3-4, 13; 3:2). The Assyrians were a militarily advanced culture, and cruel in their warfare. Whatever spiritual receptivity they had at the time of Jonah was gone by the time of Nahum. Nahum may not have actually visited Nineveh, for it seems the book was w

bible reading dec 13-14

Bible reading for December 13 -- 14 Dec 13 -- Haggai 2 and John 3 Dec 14 -- Zechariah 1 and John 4 ================ "Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts..." (Haggai 2:4) THE LATTER GLORY (Haggai 2). The Jews, having returned from Babylonian exile, must get to work and finish rebuilding the temple. For this reason, the post-exilic period is called the "second temple" period. King Herod would later enlarge and add many embellishments to the site. But the beginnings in Haggai are so modest compared to the temple originally built by Solomon, and the people were discouraged. The Lord asks, "Is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (v 3) He tells them that they are to be strong and to keep working, for he is with them, no matter how humble the project may seem. This principle applies to us, as well (Matt 28:20; Eph 6:10). We should not become disheartened at the smallness of the return on our

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