More on Parenting - Hebrews
"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, ad we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He is our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:6-11, NKJV).
The Book of Hebrews is interesting. We really do not know who was inspired to write Hebrews. There are various theological opinions. Some say Paul. Some say Luke. Perhaps one of the disciples. Whoever its author, Hebrews is a Book of encouragement to a persecuted people. It is a Book that teaches against legalism. It is a Book that pushes us to keep the faith. In fact, its author speaks of this faith just prior to the Verses I quoted above. Chapter 11 is often called "the Great Hall of Faith," because it lists several people that kept the faith, despite horrible struggles. Even the Verses prior to 6-11 speak of running the race that is set before us with great endurance just as these great (but very imperfect) men and women of God did. Verses 3-4 speak of Jesus, Himself, "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." Jesus did just that. He shed His own blood to take on our sins.
The Verses immediately following Verses 6-11 are Verses of encouragement. Verses 12-13 proclaim, "Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight the paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
I could keep going - forward and backward, but you get the point.
Unfortunately, many of us as Christian parents today will signal out Verses 6-11 as a weapon against our children rather than the encouragement they are meant to be. The writer of Hebrews is making a point. He is saying that everything has a purpose. As Paul so aptly put it in the oft-quoted Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The writer is not giving us five Verses to form a punishment theology from. He is telling us not to give up when we go through hard times. There is a purpose. God is refining us. He is correcting us. He is building us up. We need to keep the faith. We need to keep living for Him, even when times get hard.
How our Americanized Christian theology destroys the meaning that God intended. Our sword of the Spirit is not meant to be a weapon against other people - especially not our own children.
And we wonder why our children turn against God.
The Book of Hebrews is interesting. We really do not know who was inspired to write Hebrews. There are various theological opinions. Some say Paul. Some say Luke. Perhaps one of the disciples. Whoever its author, Hebrews is a Book of encouragement to a persecuted people. It is a Book that teaches against legalism. It is a Book that pushes us to keep the faith. In fact, its author speaks of this faith just prior to the Verses I quoted above. Chapter 11 is often called "the Great Hall of Faith," because it lists several people that kept the faith, despite horrible struggles. Even the Verses prior to 6-11 speak of running the race that is set before us with great endurance just as these great (but very imperfect) men and women of God did. Verses 3-4 speak of Jesus, Himself, "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." Jesus did just that. He shed His own blood to take on our sins.
The Verses immediately following Verses 6-11 are Verses of encouragement. Verses 12-13 proclaim, "Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight the paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
I could keep going - forward and backward, but you get the point.
Unfortunately, many of us as Christian parents today will signal out Verses 6-11 as a weapon against our children rather than the encouragement they are meant to be. The writer of Hebrews is making a point. He is saying that everything has a purpose. As Paul so aptly put it in the oft-quoted Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The writer is not giving us five Verses to form a punishment theology from. He is telling us not to give up when we go through hard times. There is a purpose. God is refining us. He is correcting us. He is building us up. We need to keep the faith. We need to keep living for Him, even when times get hard.
How our Americanized Christian theology destroys the meaning that God intended. Our sword of the Spirit is not meant to be a weapon against other people - especially not our own children.
And we wonder why our children turn against God.
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