Matters of the Heart - Pt 6

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10–11 ESV).

The next in our series of “heart-healthy” spiritual examinations is often misunderstood and misquoted. It deals with discipline. In our reading today, which is both the clearest statement of the work of God in disciplining His children and the most controversial, there are three different Greek words used. While I won’t use the space to deal with all of them, the most prominent is paideúō. It is taken from the word país, which means "a child under development with strict training." It is a reference of properly training a child so they mature and realize their full potential. While there is great disagreement about whether corporal punishment is necessary to “train up” our children today, there can be no doubt that in the spiritual realm that part of the discipline has already taken place in the punishment of Jesus on the cross for all of our sins. Let me illustrate the concept of discipline with a recent quote from Craig W. Lindsey’s interview with my son, Kyle. It originally appeared in a larger context of Kyle’s work in Pharmacological Research. Kyle was asked about his “philosophy or a favorite quote.” Here is his answer: When I was a child, my father would take me fishing, and I would inevitably get frustrated when the fish were not biting. He would always tell me, “that’s why they call it fishing and not catching.” It was apparently something that my grandfather had told him when he was about the same age. I realized much later that within this little quote is a bigger and more transcendent principle… that it is important to enjoy the process as much as the outcome. (ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2020 11 (2), 99-100). I suppose I could have become frustrated and angry at his complaint while we pleasantly floated along the surface of the lake, mostly “fishing and not catching,” but at least that time I did what a father should do… teach. I’m glad the lesson was heard and it stuck. However, there’s an even greater lesson for me today. In my heavenly Father’s “teaching” I may often feel “pain.” Training is, after all, hard. The results are always worth it. My prayer must be that the Lord will continue to discipline me for my good so that I may share in His holiness and bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness (v. 11). I hope that becomes your prayer each day as well. That is the way to a healthy heart!