v 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?
So here is the other side of being a child of God; He is the good Father who will sometimes have to discipline His children. From time to time, in my days as a School Head, I had to invite parents to see me as a result of a child’s misbehaviour. There were two extremes: in some cases these were children who kicked over the traces at school because of excessively harsh discipline at home, in other cases it was the result of an undisciplined home where wilful and selfish behaviour had never been corrected. (Meeting the parents usually revealed which was which!)
Make no mistake, love learns how to correct a child both gently and firmly. And our heavenly Father knows how to discipline His children. Some of the hard times we go through are not the result of God not caring about us, but rather that He cares so much that He disciplines us for our good. V 11 remains fundamentally true ‘ No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. ‘
The Christian never grows out of the willingness to be disciplined and set on the right path again, it is a mark that you are one of God’s children.
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