"And have you quite forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his child? He said 'My son, don't be angry when the Lord punishes you. Don't be discouraged when he has to show you where you are wrong. For when he punishes you, it means he loves you'" Hebrews 12:5-6 (TLB)
"This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you." How many of us believed that one when we were punished by our parents? But, out of us who have kids, how many believe it now? What do you know; it really does hurt the parents more than it hurts the children. But discipline is a part of love. We love our children enough to discipline them, to prevent more serious problems later. It is better for our children to suffer a little now, instead of a lot later.
If this is true of parents who love their children, how much more true of our Heavenly Father? Jehovah rebukes us now, in order to save us from the flames of hell later. In this way, he shows the depth of his love for us by helping us to turn from traveling the wrong path, and putting us back on the straight and narrow way, so that we will spend a blessed eternity bathed in the warm glow of Our Master's love.
Copyright 2007 Timothy E. Davis