Do you remember a time when you were young, after receiving a spanking from your dad, you looked up to him and said, “Thank you daddy. I needed that.” Probably not. A good and loving father is one who gives correction to his children in order to train and mold their character into one that understands right and wrong and understands and honors authority. We should be thankful for that kind of discipline. Failure to learn from discipline results in great life difficulties and pain. Good and loving Fathers discipline their children as needed to save them from greater pain and sorrow in their future. “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly (Proverbs 13:24).
Because some parents have wrongfully abused their children, our society has rejected loving correction and allowed children to grow up without an understanding of consequences and authority. I will not be surprised if in the future our Bibles will be purged of references to discipline. We will forget the sweet words regarding our Good Shepherd, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4) or words in Hebrews 12:9 “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” Or, even better, “For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He punishes every son whom He accepts” (Hebrews 12:6)
There are times when each of us know we are acting outside of the will of God, misbehaving, and not yielding to God’s authority. In our willful disobedience, we turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit’s convicting us and the Word of God’s instructing us. God is a good father. He will discipline us because He loves us. And, when we recognize that we are being disciplined by Him, we must lift up our face to His and say, “Thank you Father, I needed that.” And, we will heed the words spoken by Jesus to the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).