Tusite ‘Okatopa 10, 2023
The Discipline and of the Lord
Ko e Tautea ‘a e ‘Otua
PSALM 94:12-13
BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOM YOU DISCIPLINE, O LORD, AND WHOM YOU TEACH OUT OF YOUR LAW, TO GIVE HIM REST FROM DAYS OF TROUBLE. UNTIL A PIT IS DUG FOR THE WICKED.
SAAME 94:12-13
12 Monū‘ia ā ka ko e tangata ‘oku ke fai ako ki ai, ‘e IAA, Mo ke fakapoto‘i mei he lao ‘o e ‘Afiona. 13 Ke fakanonga ia mei he ngaahi ‘aho mala, Kae‘oua ke keli ‘a e luo ma‘a e angahala.
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful" (Heb. 12:11 NIV). That's one verse I think almost everyone agrees with. Discipline hurts. Discipline humbles. So how can the psalmist pronounce a blessing on the one whom God yasar ("discipline, chastise, rebuke")? Because it is proof that the Lord loves us. "The LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in" (Prov. 3:12 NIV). Any father who lets his child get away with wrongdoing, who never disciplines him, does not love that child. Love corrects. Love teaches. Love seeks to improve another. So discipline is one facet of love in action. In the wilderness, God yasar Israel "as a man disciplines his son" (Deut. 8:5). He taught them the Torah. He rebuked their idolatry. He sought their reformation.
Our Father wants us to "share his holiness," to have the "peaceful fruit of righteousness," so he disciplines us "for our good" (Heb. 12:10-11). All this he does because he has made us his sons and daughters in Christ, on whom fell "the chastisement ['discipline'] that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).
Rebuke us not in your wrath, heavenly Father, but discipline us in your love.
No comments:
Post a Comment