"Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His child? Do not make light of THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE, and do not give up when He corrects you! The Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child."
Do you discipline your children? You do if you love your children. Good parents teach and instruct their children to keep them from harm and to correct their behavior. When you were disciplined did you interpret that as hatred on the part of your parents or did you learn from them acceptable behavior. THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE is like yours, sometimes encouraging words sometimes punishment for bad behavior. The Lord corrects you because He Loves you and He punishes you because you are His child. To spare the rod is to spoil the child. If He spanks you, you will not die, but He may save you from death! Many forms of discipline are actually acts of encouragement and love, intended to teach responsibility and keep you on the right path. The discipline is really an expression of Love!
We must never forget the divine Word of God and we should welcome discipline on ourselves and our children. God always has a good reason which is to teach and instruct us in life and to help us find the righteous path to Him. Do not reject this discipline or act with scorn, instead submit to His correction, understanding His love. Do not give up your Love of God because He corrects you, instead feel secure in that He disciplines those He loves. If you do not listen and heed the discipline you will have further instruction in store.
It is the Lord's desire that everyone open the door to their heart and invite Him in to dwell with them. He wants to make you His Child. He wants to be your Father. He loves and cares about us and because of this He will encourage you and He will discipline you. He punishes you if you deserve it. Like any good parent his motive is to make you a better person. Lack of discipline is lack of Love. If you truly care about someone you want to teach and instruct them in order to protect them from harm, even death. If you are a child of God do not rebuke the Lord or mistake His discipline for anything but His love for you. Instead stop and learn from the lesson you have been given. We should actually invite and encourage THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE!
