Loving Discipline
Loving Discipline
The dogs barked. Sitting outside in the warm sun, I looked to see what had drawn their attention. I saw him. A young man astride a small-wheeled bicycle of the sort sometimes used for trick riding. Disheveled in ill-fitting clothes, grungy. Perched awkwardly on the bike was a large duffel. A backpack rode his shoulders.
Instantly came the thought. “There goes a real winner. What can he be doing way out here? I hope he doesn’t hang around.”
From my vantage point I could see the intersection of two country roads. At one corner there is a tall concrete retaining wall. It is sometimes used to post pictures congratulating local high-school graduates. Recently, a local businessman hung a very large sign with scripture and a message urging and guiding readers to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The young man paused. He turned his bike and slowly approached the sign. My fleshly judgment was that he would see what it said, turn away in disgust, and quickly resume his travel.
He did not.
Instead, he spent several minutes perusing the sign. He took much longer than I could have anticipated. It was obvious that he was reading it. Taking it in. Finally, he moved on, going who knows where.
Judging.
For decades judging people has been a major playground of the flesh for me. I grew up judging and being judged. Raised in a legalistic church tradition, I was a professional religionist for a very long time. That’s a fact, not an excuse.
That was my old self.
Those religionist days are behind me, gone and destroyed by the glory, mercy, and grace of God. He has re-birthed me by His Spirit, making me His righteous child, above reproach, without spot or blemish.
Even so, the flesh sometimes finds footing on old well-worn mental pathways. Such methods of self-gratification present themselves as satisfying, and edifying, and ego building. In truth, they lead only to hurt, division, and regret.
Thank God, Father will have none of that. He knows the damage such evil causes in me. He despises the loss of effectiveness, the stymied growth. He doesn’t let that nonsense escape my notice for long.
Lovingly, gently, but firmly, Father pointed out that I had judged this young man without really “seeing” him. He reminded me that this old proclivity was no longer part of my makeup in Christ Jesus. It was beneath me. I knew right away that Father was not glorified by the attitude I had entertained in that moment, and I regretted it instantly.
Still, there was no condemnation. Instead, Father admonished me that I was out of my depth and had no business judging this unkempt young man that He loves just as much as He loves me. He reminded me to see people as He does. He pointed out what He had said through my older brother, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:16 about judging no one according to the flesh.
Make no mistake, Father disciplines and chastens His children. It isn’t pleasant to realize our failures. It’s embarrassing, humbling, sorrowful. That is as it should be. Our failures remind us that we are not able to do anything apart from Him. But there is no condemnation (see Romans 8:1).
He is always working for our best, edifying and encouraging us in ways that equip us to live dependent on Him by faith. That’s His plan because He knows that He is the only way to Life. So, He reminds us that His Spirit is at work in us to desire what is loving, and that sets the stage for us to deny ungodliness and live upright lives characterized by good and godly things.
Hebrews 12:5–6 (NIV)
“And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
