359. Chastening
Hebrews 12:6, 7 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?
God promises to chasten us. This doesn’t sound like a promise, because it is not something we want or look for, and we could well do without it. But in hindsight chastening has a pleasant purpose and a good result. It changes us for the better. Verse 11: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” We want the results and the benefits without going through the pain of the discipline, but we all know it doesn’t work that way. There is no gain without pain.
If we were perfect people, and not sinners, we wouldn’t need the discipline. But we are sinners, and as children of God we are loved beyond belief, and as sinners we do not naturally do the right or good thing. We must be trained and disciplined. God loves us too much to just be tolerant and overlook our weaknesses and flaws. He is constantly working on our character and behavior. And thank God that He is persistent for we need a lot of change. We are always in process, and we will not be complete until death and resurrection. Death is the final discipline that produces the final and permanent change.
Chastening, scourging and dealing are not pleasant, but they are definitely needed. We are children, and God loves His children so much. Rebellious sinners must have boundaries, so God gives the Moral Law, the Ten Commandments, to make life bearable and lovely. Only prideful and unrepentant unbelievers do not think they need the chastening of the Lord. But even Job, one of the most righteous men ever, learned that he, too, needed the discipline of the Lord; and it caused him to shut his mouth and to repent in dust and ashes. After he learned the lesson of humanity he was blessed beyond belief.
Therefore, the chastening of the Lord is a wonderful promise, for when we submit to God we are able to believe that tough times are good times. God has a purpose in mind a good outcome for every difficulty. We really need to believe that.