Hebrews 12:8-10 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.
When I was a kid, I can remember getting spanked. It didn’t happen all the time, but there were times when I did get it, and I deserved it. Spanking didn’t completely eliminate my willful disobedience, but it did slow it down.
I don’t remember getting spanked by anyone other than my parents or my teacher. Those were the good ol’ days, weren’t they. The paddle with the holes drilled into it so that it made that whistling sound as it approached its target. “Incoming!” Leaning over the teacher’s desk, in front of my peers, that sound would ignite fear in every kid in the classroom.
But what would it have been like if the neighborhood parents could have spanked any kid who was violating the community rules? You are over at your friend’s house and suddenly the house paddle gets removed from the nail in the kitchen and the footsteps start moving your direction. Do you really know the reason for the upcoming bottom encounter? No, because it isn’t your house.
Most kids at least knew their parents cared about them, and that their teachers were somehow connected to their parent’s care. So the paddle made some sense. The discipline had a connection to their loving care. At least for most of us.
But the kid from the neighborhood didn’t have the caring connection, so the discipline they might received from a neighborhood parent didn’t communicate the same message. The whistling sound just meant terror.
Our text uses the analogy of parental discipline to teach a simple point. The LORD disciplines us. And the outcome of that discipline is a life that more accurately reflects our familial connection to Him. We act more in line with His character.
This is called “holiness” in the Scriptures. Unfortunately, this word holiness has dropped from the vocabulary of far to many followers of Jesus, often because it is associated with something that has nothing to do with actual holiness. Holiness has little to do with our outward appearance, and everything to do with the quality of our inner character that gets expressed in how we live in relationship with the LORD and with each other.
Holiness isn’t about tattoos or rips in our jeans. It has to do with how we love and live. Do our lives reflect the reality of the Gospel, the love and sacrifice of Jesus? Or do those who watch our lives see selfishness and a callous attitude toward those who differ from us!
The Arnold Journey 