Theme of the Week: God Our Father
Bible Verse: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? “Hebrews 12:7 NIV
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:1-12
There are two ways to think about discipline. One way is to think about it as punishment. For example, Johnny was grounded three weeks because his parents were disciplining him. A second way to think about discipline is to think of it as training. For example, an athlete is disciplined in repeating his drills so that on game day, he is ready.
When the Bible talks about our heavenly Father disciplining us as his sons, it is speaking more about training than it is about punishment. For example, as dads, we often need to be patient, understanding, gentle and forgiving with our kids. These qualities don’t usually come naturally to us. Because of this, improving in these areas takes discipline, training, and practice, which is often very hard.
Jesus understood this. The Bible says: Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8 NIV)
Our hardships are often cues to come to our heavenly Father and ask what we need to learn so that we may become more like him.
You see, like all great dads, our heavenly Father wants us to be the best that we can be. In order to be the best that we can be, we must love as Jesus loved. However, this takes work. It takes practice. It also takes discipline.
If you are in a challenging season right now as a dad, it may be an opportunity for you to reflect on your character. Where, in this season, do you need the most practice and training to become like Jesus? Bring these qualities before God and then lean in and ask him to train you.
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