toy story

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? (Hebrews 12:7)

I love my kids.  And I love a good bargain.  So whenever I find a great deal on toys that I think one of my sons will like, I’ll buy them while the price is right and save the goods for later, to be given as future birthday gifts or rewards for when my oldest son does an exceptional job in the discipline department.  The problem is, he’s a preschooler and discipline is such a challenge these days…

We now have a stockpile of toys just waiting to be released to him.

It’s not that I bought a lot of things for him– it’s that whenever he does need to be disciplined, his mom and I put his existing toys on time-out, one at a time. And before he can get any of the new toys as a reward, he first has to earn back the timed-out toys, one by one.

As his father, I know that he needs to be disciplined for his own sake, so I try to be firm with him outwardly, but inwardly, I’m rooting for him to do a good job because, in addition to wanting him to grow into a productive member of society, I really want to give him the toys I bought– the gifts that are now stockpiled in a cupboard, gathering dust as they wait to be awarded.

And every time I see this stash of toys, I wonder if God also roots for us to learn our lessons so that He can release more of what He already has in store for us.

There might be times in our lives where it seems like the LORD is withholding blessings.  Maybe He is, but perhaps there’s something we can or need to learn through the process.  There might be old habits or sinful behaviors that we keep falling back into, and while the LORD might be patient and gracious with us as He waits for us to work through them, what we might fail to realize is that greater things lie ahead and we might not get there if we don’t “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Heb. 12:1).

God disciplines His children 

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And 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, 
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, 
   and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

 ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

(Hebrews 12:4-11)

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