Hebrews 12:1-13
God Disciplines His Sons
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And 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,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, 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 our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Many of the Old Testament prophets, if not all of them, believed in the coming Messiah...The prophets are our past witnesses of God, our creator and wrote about the Messiah...Isaiah wrote about Him in his Suffering Servant chapters...When we fix our eyes on LORD Jesus, He is the perfecter of the prophet's and our faith...There is a need for the Perfecter and us being perfect...
When we are looking for evidences of God, we must not forget or fail to list the prophets and their writings inspired by God...Jesus reminds us of the evidence of the prophets in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus...Abraham tells the rich man in hell, after the rich man has asked to send the dead Lazarus to his father's house so his brothers will not be condemned to hell...Abraham tells the rich man, if they do not believe in the prophets and Moses, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:19-31)...
Jesus endured hardship and opposition while one earth...He confronted evil with good and died on the cross at his enemies hands...He died on the cross but declared victory for us and our sins with His resurrection...He helps us with our struggles with sin, when He shed His blood for us...So when we are troubled, we should not lose heart...God disciplines those He loves...He wants us to be better, to do better, to be perfect and He punishes everyone He accepts as His son...
Much like we have fathers discipline us, because of their love for us to do better, so be it with God...So when we endure hardships accept this as discipline for God is treating us a son, who needs discipline...Every son is a sinner and needs disciplining...God can discipline us in many ways...He works through nature and the natural laws He created...He can discipline us as we struggle with sin and feel guilty...He can discipline us with personal hardships...He can discipline us with a physical ailment or suffering as St. Paul...St. Paul tells us he had a thorn in his flesh that he prayed to God to take away ( 2 Corinthians 12:7-8)...Our natural father's discipline us to be better, much like God who disciplines us to be perfect and holy, so we may share in His holiness...
No discipline is pleasant at the time of the discipline, but painful...Later we may see how we actually needed the discipline and see how we are better for it for those who have learned from it...
God is infinite and perfect...God is pure LOVE...Divine discipline is for our good...We are imperfect, God wants us perfect...Jesus teaches us to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)... Since we are imperfect and God is perfect, as we get nearer to Him we must be perfect...Because when Perfection is touched by imperfections, Perfection becomes imperfect...God has no choice but to be perfect, because that is what He is...We need His discipline and the Messiah's teachings to become more like Jesus...His Son was perfect and also holy...We are told to be holy, because I AM Holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15-16)...The more perfect and holy we can become the closer we can get to Him...Jesus, perfect and holy, is now sitting at the right hand of the throne of God (verse 2)...
For our love to be the perfect love of God, our love must flow through us and to Him and all our neighbors (family, friends, as well as enemies)...Jesus is our hope...Jesus give us this hope, because He is the way, the truth, and the life...No one gets to the Father, except through Him...When we really know Jesus, we will know the Father as well...And when we really know Jesus, we will know the Father and then will be able to see Him (John 14:6-8)....As we become more like Son, we get closer to our Father...We can get closer to the Father, and it is through Jesus...That is the way...He is the way...