He Chastens Those He Loves

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

Growing up, I believe I was whipped more than congratulated… I think that scars and welts on my backside far outnumbered the hugs for a job well done… That said, I look back on my childhood and thank my parents for correcting me back then instead of allowing me to suffer the consequences of my actions now… When a parent loves a child, correction is a form of throwing a life-line before it’s too late… There is nothing worse in life than to lose the support of your parents… I can recall a time in my life when I was all about fitting the image and being amongst my friends… School was nothing to me and my grades showed that very thing. I can remember a time when I received my report card and it seemed as if my parents would have been proud just to see a “C” on the paper. There was one time in particular when my actions actually sunk in, my father looked at my report card and said, “If this is what you have decided that you want to be and do, fine…” 

I realized at that point that my father wasn’t going to beat me, he wasn’t going to ground me, but that he simply had come to the realization that his love to see me prosper was completely poured out. I could feel the disappointment, but more importantly, I could feel the separation… The book of Proverbs teaches us today that discipline is love, not that your parents love to beat you, but that they love you enough to try and get you on the right path and course. These verses from Proverbs draw a parallel to the fact that correction equals love. When God punishes you, or corrects you, it is in love! When He makes you face consequences, it's because He doesn’t want to see you fall by the wayside. On the contrary, He wants to see you reach the heights and goals He has ordained for your life! So when you are dealing with hardships, when you are disciplined, when you are facing the corrective rod of God, know that He loves you and cares for you! If you are doing the things YOU want to do, without chastisement or correction, this is the time when you need to be concerned and worried…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!