No Discipline Seems Enjoyable At The Time

The ancient proverb says, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." - Pro 27:17 ESV. This is the concept behind discipline. When you come against someone as hardened and strong as you only one of two things follow. You will be changed by that encounter. Either you will be defeated and collapse or you will become sharper and better prepared for the next encounter. Iron does sharpen iron.

Picking up on this, the Hebrews writer speaks about discipline (paideia in Greek). Our heavenly Father loves us and wants us to grow stronger and stronger in our faith convictions. This chapter is devoted to spelling out the Father's understanding of discipline.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." 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. - Hbr 12:6-11 ESV

Notice that our Father both disciplines and scourges us. Jesus was scourged and flogged by the Romans before His crucifixion. Roman scourging was so severe that those crucified often died from it shortly after being crucified. There is another proverb about the LORD treating His children in this manner.

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. - Pro 3:11-12

 Here we face the harsh reality of how our LORD (the Lord Jesus as well) deals with us who are His disciples. And it is no fun ! Make no mistake about this. You and I are God's children, reborn and adopted into the family by being baptized into Jesus Christ. But follows now the rest of the journey to the Father's house. Our sinful human nature remains. And it fights against the new life we have received in Christ. Consequently we are disciplined, scourged, reproved and rebuked for sin. As we endure such discipline, at times the Lord seems to be the enemy, coming at us with great hostility. It seems as if He wants to destroy us. We are only a moth to be crushed as we flutter about the light of a candle. We are nothing more than a mere breath, a shadow! The whole enterprise of life seems pointless in those moments. We are spent, exhausted, worn out.

Listen to David as he struggles with the LORD's discipline and consider the emotions behind his words.

"O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!    Selah

Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 

"And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. 

Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath!    Selah 

"Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!" - Psa 39:4-13 ESV

And yet . . . this is who we are, children of God. The dark nights will come. For some of us they have, again and again and again. And yet . . . as we look back we see. What? What the writer points to: "the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." The new life in Christ emerges stronger, more vibrant and the old-adam-nature is crushed and destroyed, beaten down even if not completely destroyed.

I can tell you no more than this. Do not throw away your faith. Only darkness and despair await if you do. Struggle, wrestle, scream, cry out, demand, pray, shout, but persist. We are Israelites after all. The story of Jacob's encounter with the LORD is ours. And from that encounter Jacob emerged as a changed man (Gen. 32:24-32). 

Man Is Made In The Image Of God

Using the ancient church father Athanasius of Alexandria, we continue our study of Christ's coming among us in human flesh and blood. We continue to ask, Why did the eternal Word of God, by whom and for whom all things were and are made become a man?

As noted above, we children of Adam and Eve are not merely highly developed animals. We are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26; Eph. 4:24). It was His original intention that through this gift of God-likeness in ourselves we might be able to perceive Him who is the very Image of God in all its fullness, namely the Lord Christ. This is what Paul writes as he speaks of Christ.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Col 1:15-17 ESV

To know Christ is to know our Maker and Creator. And through knowing and believing in Christ we come to know His Father, for to see Christ is to see, to know and rejoice in the Father. And to be in fellowship with the Father is what a happy and blessed life is all about. So Jesus taught His disciples that He came to reveal the Father.

. . . not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. - John 6:46 ESV 

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. - Jhn 14:8-11 ESV

But what do we foolish men do? We invent other gods to worship. We worship the creature rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Primitive men worship objects of wood and stone to this very day. Sophisticated, scientifically oriented men worship objects they themselves have made, like powerful cars, airplanes, computers and ultimately themselves. They kneel before great athletes, pop stars, physicians, wise men, scientists and—yes—even politicians to offer their children and their wealth. These idols are the guides and source of wisdom. And when they fail men turn to astrology, palm readings and tarot cards to unlock the future and to learn how to live.

Seattle Indians Offer Psychic Readings

Yet while all this goes on the very heavens above us declare by day and by night the glory and wonder the God who spoke His Word and called all this into existence, as the King David said.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. - Psa 19:1-4 ESV

However, as is the rule rather than the exception, men study the sky, the weather, the stars and the immensity of the universe, but do not worship and honor the Creator. Surely such study should lead them to recognize the eternal Creator who brought it into being and continues to rule over it (Rom. 1:20), but it does not. Instead, many who ponder it's wonder, merely celebrate its complexity and refuse to give thanks to the Creator of it all. They reject even the idea that there is a Creator. As one atheist puts it, "The truth is that an atheistic worldview is at least as compatible with the human sense of spirituality as any religious worldview is." What the author means by spirituality is unclear.

Beyond that the Creator has given us His Law, written first on human hearts. Our philosophers and law makers speak about natural law. They claim that there is a rule of right and wrong written in our hearts and natures, a law that accuses and excuses our actions. Many wise men, dating back to the days of the ancient Greeks, have written about it. Much can be learned from their writings. Thousands of laws are wisely based upon these writings. But do these laws lead men to the true God? Does natural law cause men to ask who put it into human hearts and lead men to humble worship and obedience? Obviously not, because our world bulges with law breakers.

To make His will even more clear God revealed His Law through His prophets. The Jews were entrusted with such oracles (Rom. 3:1-2; Gen. 17:4-5) They were not to keep them to themselves, but to spread them throughout the world. They were commissioned to lead men to worship the one true God and Father of all.

Three ways are thus open to all men to obtain the knowledge of God.

1. The harmony and wonder of creation should lead men to know the Creator, the Word of the heavenly Father who rules over and guides all things. To know Him is to know the Father. 
2. Wise men know about natural law. It is written in men's hearts. Surely men should acknowledge that a Creator has put His Law within us.  
3. Finally God has revealed His holy Law through Israel's prophets. They offer us all a sacred school of the knowledge of God and how to live a spiritual life. 

In spite of all this the Word of God is not acknowledged and honored. The worship of idols, the pursuit of pleasure and power and the love of the creatures continues to this very moment. And yet every man, woman and child on this earth is made in the Image of God, created to reflect the Word of God in all they say and do. Granted, the Image is clouded and the knowledge of God is hidden, but the fact remains. Men are not mere animals. They are made in God's Image. How then should God free His children from this slavery to the lies of all the multitude of idols and the deception of evil spirits led by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4)? Men cannot, for they are only made after the Image. They are not the Image Himself. Angels cannot do it, for they are not made in the Image of God. So who is left? Only He who is the very Image of the heavenly Father (Col. 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-4). Only He can recreate man after the Image.

I will take up the process of re-creation in my next post.  


  

Bluebirds And Anxiety

Today I'd like to comment about the above photo that I took in my back yard a little over a week ago. If you look close you can see a nest with blue eggs. They are actually eggs laid by a mother bluebird. Two of the chicks have hatched. Three eggs are not yet. The odd piece of machinery on the right comes from my propane tank. It is the gauge telling me how much gas I have in the tank. Here's the story.

I wanted to check to see if I had enough gas, so I lifted a yellow metal cover over the gauge. To my great astonishment there was this nest. The cover has an opening that allows just enough room for the little birds to go in and out and acts very much like any ordinary bird house. Seeing what I had come upon I quickly called my wife Sylvia, took this photo with my iPhone and quietly put the cover back down. We both decided the little babies must not be disturbed. We were delighted to watch the bluebird mother enter her house to care for her young as we stood about thirty feet away. Daddy bluebird also dropped down and perched outside as she entered. Since then, they have been going in and out regularly. We've not dared to open the cover again. In fact, we called the gas company and asked them also to stay away for the duration.

How long does it take for baby bluebirds to mature? As it turns out, several interesting facts surfaced as I did a Google search, i.e. Bluebird Babies In Back Yard. It appears that the mother eats the eggshells after the babies hatch. They provide protein. In about a week the babies begin to get feathers and in less than three weeks they are ready to fly. All this is quite amazing to me. As the author of the linked piece says, "May all your blues be bluebirds."

My further point is that none of this happens by chance, accident or some vague natural phenomenon called "Mother Nature." Here is what our Lord Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:24-34). 

As I gaze again upon this bluebird nest photo and ponder the little family in my backyard, I sense our Lord speaking again to both of us. He reminds us that our anxieties about health and money issues and our future are quite unnecessary. He listens to our prayers. Jesus promises that our heavenly Father values us more than these tiny bluebirds that He is protecting. It was not by chance that I was moved to lift up the cover to my gas tank. I hardly ever do that. I usually entrust all that to Selph's Propane coming by automatically to check the levels. In fact, when I reported the phenomenon they told me this was not the first time that my tank cover has been so used. And they are always very careful not to disturb the nest in the Spring when they do check. I didn't know that.

And yet, the heavenly Father wanted us to know about it. So I was strangely moved to lift up the cover. As a result much of our anxiety about health, finances and the future has melted away. We shall focus upon the troubles of today and how we may please our heavenly Father. Everything else is in His hands. Food, clothing, shelter and all the rest that we worry about will be cared for.

I pray that He speaks the same Word also to you.