Hebrews 12:4-11-- What Children Are Not Disciplined?

Scripture: Hebrews 12:4-11

To review the recent parts of Hebrews: in the face of suffering and hardships, our faith ought to carry us forward as we keep our eyes on eternal truths, just as the Old Testament heroes did and just as Jesus did.

But if you're like me, this isn't easy. In fact, it's super hard. When I'm in the middle of suffering and hardship, I want to keep my eyes on... my suffering and hardship. 

And all the while, amid my pain, complaints, and grumpiness, one question permeates my thoughts and words-- "Why, God? Why?"



The readers of Hebrews must have been asking the same thing, because the author takes a crack at answering this incredibly difficult question. To do it, (s)he points to the father-child relationship and the idea of discipline.

This doesn't automatically tell us everything there is to know about our suffering. There are different kinds of parental discipline; the spanking after a tantrum is of a different sort than the lecture about not talking to strangers, and again from the yell as a child reaches for the stove. 

But we still learn what is, I think, a huge lesson about our hardships. Just as parents know unimaginably more than their toddlers, God knows infinitely more than we. So, just as parents use 'suffering' to introduce and enforce rules upon their children (you're grounded, no dessert, curfew time, etc.) so that they'll learn things, God does the same.

The difference, though, is that unlike parents, God is incomprehensibly wise, knowledgeable, complex, and sovereign (not to mention existing supernaturally and communicating to us primarily through a book). So while I know that my lack of car privileges is meant to teach me to drive responsibly, I don't know exactly what I'm meant to learn from the instances of suffering in my life.

But hopefully I (and you, if you're anything like me) can learn to accept these difficulties, knowing that...

"God is treating you as His children."