For the Lord disciplines the one He loves and chastises every son whom He receives…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. Hebrews 12:6; 10

“Go sit on your bed till your father gets home!” were the most dreaded words of my childhood. The time till he came with the inevitable correction was the worst punishment of all. My parents were not perfect but they taught me some important things about God which I missed at those moments. They showed that I belonged to their family. They regularly punished me but they never spanked the neighbor’s kids! Secondly, they were determined that I was going to grow up and become an adult. If they felt I was incapable they would have just patted me on the head and given up.

But in spite of their best efforts I came to the conclusion that I was displeasing and that the last thing they wanted to do was to spend time with me. Maybe you not only have also shared some of my boyhood experiences. Today’s hardships and setbacks cry out, “God doesn’t care about you! You aren’t worth His time! Why not just give up hoping that you could ever please Him!” But the cold hard truth is that God loved you so much that He gave His Son to die in your place. You are so worth His time that He wants to be with you for all eternity. He is so pleased to call you His son that He disciplines you now so He can share His Holy presence with you forever! What a wonderful heavenly Father we have! What small discipline we receive now tells us that we are loved so much that He wants to be with us forever!