January 12 Not Spoiled

My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as the father the child he delights in. ~Proverbs 3:11-12

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as children: “My child, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a child.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His child. For what truly loved child is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not a true offspring of the Father. Moreover, we’ve all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ~Hebrews 12:4-11

These passages of scripture often remind me of the movie, “The Karate Kid.” If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s about a young man who wants to learn karate and the disciplines that the instructor puts him through to learn the necessary moves to become a champion. “Spoiler alert.” The movie does have a happy ending, just in case you were wondering. What I am thinking about here is the process that was used to bring success. It was strict discipline.

I’ll just give two examples to illustrate what I mean. The first move that the young man learns is a hand motion. The instructor teaches the motion by having him wash and wax his car, meticulously. “wax on, wax off.” Of course, the instructor doesn’t let the young man in on what he is actually doing. He allows the young man to believe that he is cleaning the instructor’s car in payment for his lessons.

Another hidden lesson takes place in a fishing boat. The young man is told to practice standing on one leg, while the boat gently bobs around, and the instructor enjoys a pleasant day of fishing.

As experiences continue and skills are taught in a hidden manner, the young man becomes frustrated. He feels taken advantage of because all he wanted to learn was karate, but he hasn’t had one formal lesson, but the instructor has certainly benefited from his obedience. It isn’t until the competition that the instructor explains himself and is then able to use reference to the chores that he had the young man do that the secret method is revealed, for a happy ending.

Another good movie that illustrates the benefit of discipline for me is the Kendric Brothers “Facing the Giants.” It’s a Christian movie about a football coach at a Christian school. When we show that movie to friends we always ask, what was the most memorable scene for you? One hundred per cent of the time, the response is, “the death crawl scene.”

Again, for those of you who haven’t seen it, the coach blindfolds his strongest player and has him walk on his hands and feet down the field carrying another player on his back. To keep going in the right direction, he is totally trusting his coach who is walking along side cheering him on, all the way. The player becomes tired and wants to quit. He has no idea how far he has gone down the field or how far he still has to go. The main thing that keeps him going is his coach’s encouragement. Finally, as the young man is loudly complaining that he can’t possibly make it to the goal line, the coach says, “OK, take off the blind fold.” The player IS at the goal! He has gone farther then he imagined possible.

Both of these movies, for me, are such a picture of life in Christ and the purpose of His discipline of us in that life. I do believe that nothing of what we go through on this earth is wasted in God’s economy. We don’t always see the purpose, but each experience helps us to gain skill that we will need either for ourselves or to help others along the way. We don’t know how long we have to acquire or use the skills we are gaining, but if we remain vigilant in His discipline, we are the ones blessed. This is wisdom.

When we remain in God’s Word, and read the tough stuff, beyond the Psalms and Gospel, that is good for us. When we practice prayer, first, in its many types, including confession, thanks and praise, we gain from that discipline by growing closer to Him. We gain His wisdom and are blessed. Just practicing being aware of His presence, always, is a blessing. Remembering that we are never alone, never hidden from Him, helps us in comfort and accountability as a discipline of its own.

Most importantly, remember that He is disciplining because He loves. It may not seem pleasant at the time, but discipline in Christ has the reward of making us more like Him. It’s shedding the old nature. It’s re-writing the heart. It’s all for His glory.

Onward Christian Soldiers