MAMEMOO

theEIGHTHofmaytwoohohseven

" And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." " - Hebrews 12:5-6

the Lord teaches us valuable lessons.
and sometimes these lessons hurt.

our Father in heaven does not intend to punish us,
but instead we may have viewed it as such. and then run away, hurt.
we ought to view it as the Lord correcting us toward righteousness.
because that is his true desire.

it was our selfish PRIDE that got in the way.

we so happily and readily acknowledge that we are sons of God.
but have not fully fathomed what it really means.
we had love and acceptance in mind, albeit in limited understanding.
we did not comprehend that true sonship also brings about loving DISCIPLINE.
we warmly embrace the notion of comfortable love, but are unprepared for the rude jolt of TOUGH LOVE.

if our mental image of God is one of constant tender loving care,
boy, are we in for a surprise.
it only goes to show our limited understanding of God.

while God never hesitates to take delight in us,
he is also prepared to tutor us toward Christ-likeness,
and if our minds are offended in the process, then obviously we had the wrong notions in mind.

it is our selfish PRIDE that gets in the way.

ARE we too proud to be tutored?
DO we expect God to be pleasing us?
ARE we serving God, or do we expect God to be serving us?

this is a lesson i have been through myself,
after failing the driving test again, i know how much it hurts, yes indeed i do.
emotionally and economically, it hurts.
but God was teaching me something.
thank God i didn't go to the extreme of running away and dissing God.
thank God i learnt humility. and realised my hidden folly.

pride affects everyone, and is one of the hardest things to overcome.
because a proud person will never admit that he is proud.

HAS pride hindered our teachability?


thank you, Lord, for your discipline. may I not take your tough love for granted.
amen.

MY APPLICATION: to share this with a someone.