Discipline!

Discipline!

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.  Hebrews 12:11 KJV

Context and Charge:

There is a place for discipline. Adults need it as well as children. There is a physical dimension as well as a spiritual dimension. What is discipline then? One definition is: "the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience." From this definition, it is clear that discipline is not a one-off process, or something that happens overnight. It is practice; something you do over and over again. Another thing that is noted is that there are rules or a code of conduct to be enforced. It then means that discipline does not occur in a vacuum; it is always tied to an end goal or a purpose. All who seek a great end know that you need to have a structure in order to attain that great end. 

It must also be noted that discipline is usually unpleasant and grevious. No one willingly submits to tough times, but the verse before us makes it clear that the benefits of the process are eternal in nature, because it is God's way of molding and forming us into vessels He can use for His glory. The start is not always palatable but the end is always profitable. It appears that God needs to prepare me for the place He is taking me to, and without the process, I cannot take the position. If I want to be all that God intends, I must be all that God can use. The question then is: am I the kind of person that can submit willingly to God's dealings? Am I humble enough to surrender my life to God so He can deal with me as He pleases? 

Conviction and Conclusion:

I must remember that a man who God cannot discipline has no part in God. How can God commit great things into the hands of a man He cannot correct? Check out the fruit of God's dealings: the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Check out the double package: righteousness and peace, two sides of God's nature. This is what I get when I submit to God. Fruit also signifies a process: fruit does not grow overnight too. You have to put the sees in the ground, and then nurture it to fruition. The seed determines the fruit to expect; if I want a particular fruit, I have to sow the seed that will lead to that fruit. If I submit myself to this exercise. And this is a guarantee, that if I embrace the process, I get the present. Would I submit? Would I let God work? God's time of favour is here.