Easter Devotional - Day 45
"But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children, 'When the Lord punishes you, don't make light of it, and when he corrects you, don't be discouraged. The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.' Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats all his children. Don't all parents correct their children? God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn't correct you, then you don't really belong to him." Hebrews 12:5-8
We all seek belonging. We want to belong to clubs, societies, churches, corporations, and other groups we deem important. We seek to be vital parts of our families and circles of friends. If we are not empowered with a sense of belonging, we may simply cut ourselves off from such circles to live in a self-constructed anonymity to assuage our sense of failure to belong.
Belonging, however, is that to which God calls us. It is the issue of faith with which we may be most compelled to struggle. On the one hand, we may be afraid of God's attention. On the other, we may fear not measuring up to the expectation of belonging to God. We want to belong, but we fear the unintended consequences of God's attention, presence, and interruption of the comforting sense of life as we know it. We fear that God might indeed punish us for not measuring up to the demands of the gospel and the lordship of Christ Jesus.
We miss the point of such discipline. We equate discipline with an understanding of punishment flowing from revenge and anger. We look to our own attitudes toward those who have offended us and project those attitudes on God. In so doing, we miss the purpose of God's discipline. It is not a simple punishment in the sense of revenge. God's discipline is correction to equip and lead us into the better paths of life—the paths on which we truly belong and find belonging.
One reason we miss the point of God's correction is that issue of belonging. In our desire to belong, we desire to live without the need for correction. We look at belonging as a static goal—a simple destination at which we need only arrive. This is the way we so often look at life's goals. We look to graduation without the understanding that it is a beginning point. We consider beginning a career or job without much thought to the tasks and responsibilities they bring. We plan weddings with less thought to beginning a marriage. We look at retirement without considering its associated loss of contribution and the meaning and structure that works brings to our lives. We consider coming to God in faith without much attention to relating to God throughout eternity.
We want to simply belong. We do not want belonging to require a continued investment of our time, energy, and resources. We want to hold a job without showing up to work, begin a college career without classes and homework, and enjoy the blessings of marriage without building on the relationship on a constant basis. Yet if these issues require constant nurture and growth on our part, a life of faith in belonging to God requires no less.
Thus God comes to correct and direct our actions and lives, bringing us closer in our relationship of belonging to God. We are not merely introduced to God, but called to live with God forever.
Take stock of how God would correct the course of your life to greater intimacy with Christ.
"Lord, grant me the desire to continually seek closer relationship in belonging to you."
—©Copyright 2009, Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
We all seek belonging. We want to belong to clubs, societies, churches, corporations, and other groups we deem important. We seek to be vital parts of our families and circles of friends. If we are not empowered with a sense of belonging, we may simply cut ourselves off from such circles to live in a self-constructed anonymity to assuage our sense of failure to belong.
Belonging, however, is that to which God calls us. It is the issue of faith with which we may be most compelled to struggle. On the one hand, we may be afraid of God's attention. On the other, we may fear not measuring up to the expectation of belonging to God. We want to belong, but we fear the unintended consequences of God's attention, presence, and interruption of the comforting sense of life as we know it. We fear that God might indeed punish us for not measuring up to the demands of the gospel and the lordship of Christ Jesus.
We miss the point of such discipline. We equate discipline with an understanding of punishment flowing from revenge and anger. We look to our own attitudes toward those who have offended us and project those attitudes on God. In so doing, we miss the purpose of God's discipline. It is not a simple punishment in the sense of revenge. God's discipline is correction to equip and lead us into the better paths of life—the paths on which we truly belong and find belonging.
One reason we miss the point of God's correction is that issue of belonging. In our desire to belong, we desire to live without the need for correction. We look at belonging as a static goal—a simple destination at which we need only arrive. This is the way we so often look at life's goals. We look to graduation without the understanding that it is a beginning point. We consider beginning a career or job without much thought to the tasks and responsibilities they bring. We plan weddings with less thought to beginning a marriage. We look at retirement without considering its associated loss of contribution and the meaning and structure that works brings to our lives. We consider coming to God in faith without much attention to relating to God throughout eternity.
We want to simply belong. We do not want belonging to require a continued investment of our time, energy, and resources. We want to hold a job without showing up to work, begin a college career without classes and homework, and enjoy the blessings of marriage without building on the relationship on a constant basis. Yet if these issues require constant nurture and growth on our part, a life of faith in belonging to God requires no less.
Thus God comes to correct and direct our actions and lives, bringing us closer in our relationship of belonging to God. We are not merely introduced to God, but called to live with God forever.
Take stock of how God would correct the course of your life to greater intimacy with Christ.
"Lord, grant me the desire to continually seek closer relationship in belonging to you."
—©Copyright 2009, Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
My latest books can be found here on amazon
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