God's Roadmap

Now may the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God, who loved us and in his wonderful grace gave us eternal comfort and a beautiful hope that cannot fail, encourage your hearts and inspire you with strength to always do and speak what is good and beautiful in his eyes (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 TPT).


Friday, June 17, 2022

A Loving Father's Discipline

 


by Barbara Latta

My dad was a quiet man and I only remember one time that he spanked me. I stuck my tongue out at my mother, and I was across his knee before I knew I had left the floor. I kept my tongue in my mouth for the rest of my growing years. Although it didn’t feel like it at the time, I experienced a loving father’s discipline.

My dad would come out of his shop, covered in sawdust and sweat, after working on another piece of wood he had created into a work of art. He had many hobbies over the years including scuba diving, leathercraft, and archery, but woodworking was his favorite.

Photography was another at the top of the list that he developed into a sideline business. He was busy week after week recording on film the memories of weddings, graduations, school functions, and sports. My brothers and I were among the subject matter for photo practice and our images filled up numerous photo albums.

I spent a lot of time with him in his darkroom watching the magic of glossy paper immersed in chemicals become a black and white photo.

My family didn’t break any records or set any historical landmarks. We were ordinary. Jesus’s family was ordinary, too. God chose to send His Son into an everyday family instead of a king’s palace.

Jesus displayed to the world the image of the only Father who is perfect. Our biological dad’s can love us so much they would give their lives for us, but they are still human and imperfect.

And some people grow up without the influence of a loving father figure. This can distort their view of what the heavenly Father is like.

Jesus spent three years with a group of men He chose so they could be molded into a spiritual image that could portray to the world the love of the Father.

And while God did love the world so much, He gave up His Son for the sins of mankind, love doesn’t mean there is no accountability for wrongdoing.

Love corrects and disciplines like my dad disciplined me.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV)

But God corrects through His written Word or the words of anointed teachers; not by condemnation or raining some tragedy or illness on us. Those events are not from heaven but from the enemy who seeks to destroy us (John 10:10).

The Word’s correction may seem harsh, but it isn’t. Discipline is needed because of fleshly weaknesses. We don’t like for our flesh to be corrected. Giving up what our emotions want to do doesn’t feel good. The Father corrects us because He loves us.

Jesus was the image of the Father (John 14:9). He did what His Father told Him to do and said what the Father told Him to say. He disciplined His flesh to obey the Father’s will.

It didn’t feel good to go to the cross, but Christ submitted because to do so gave us the right to be born again as children of God. He saw the joy that was set before Him which gave Him the strength to endure the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus had an earthly dad as the Son of Man and a heavenly Father as the Son of God. When we believe on the Son we are born as children of God into His family and the heavenly Father becomes ours.

If we view correction as love instead of punishment, we can look ahead to the joy that is set before us. Submitting to His will sets us free from the prison of harmful emotions and the lies of the devil.

The truth (of the Word) sets us free (John 8:32).

Is the God of heaven your Father, too? If not, Father’s Day is a good time to be born as His child. Here’s how.

Happy Father's Day!

Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

TWEETABLES

God corrects through His written Word or the words of anointed teachers; not by condemnation or raining some tragedy or illness on us.Those events are not from heaven but from the enemy who seeks to destroy us (John 10:10) (click to tweet)

If we view correction as love instead of punishment, we can look ahead to the joy that is set before us. Submitting to His will sets us free from the prison of harmful emotions and the lies of the devil (click to tweet)

 

 

 

 

20 comments:

  1. So enjoyed this post Ms. Barb. A loving father is one who takes the time to correct our bad behavior, but he is also one who models for us the way we are supposed to live. I'm certain I would have enjoyed woodworking alongside your father; and I suspect, I would have learned much more about life than how to shape wood. Thank you for sharing ma'am.

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    1. Thank you for sharing, J.D. I like the way you pointed out that a good father also models right behavior. Blessings!

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  2. Correction as love rather than punishment--I love that. It's important for any believer to understand. Thanks, Barbara. God bless!

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    1. We dont always think of correction as love when we receive it, but as we mature we can learn to view it that way. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!

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  3. Thank goodness my heavenly Father loves me enough to discipline me. As I grew up, somewhere along the way, I developed the idea of God as a punishing God. But God placed godly people in my life that let me to see Him as the loving God He is. To discipline is to love. Thanks, Barbara

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    1. Candyce, you were blessed to have godly people in your life to show you the love of our heavenly Father. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!

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  4. You've correctly framed discipline as a form of love while dispelling several myths about God. Very well done, Barbara.

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    1. It is sometimes difficult for us to see discipline as love, but God's Word shows us that He corrects us because He loves us. Thanks for sharing, Annie. Blessings!

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  5. My dad owned a photo shop and I grew up there and in his darkroom. The smells of those chemicals take me back to my childhood immediately. Our dads sound very similar. My dads love and discipline led me to never doubt the Lord’s love for me.

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    1. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with your dad. Mentioning those chemicals does bring back memories of the darkroom. What a gift you had in a dad you showed you the Father's love. Blessings!

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  6. I love the distinction between discipline and punishment. I don't think I recognized such a difference until we had children. God disciplines because He loves. This is such a sweet thought. Thanks Barbara!

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    1. Yes, it does make a difference for us after we have children. We can then recognize the love that was shown to us through discipline which kept us from straying further. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!

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  7. Yvonne Morgan6/24/22, 9:15 AM

    Thanks for making the distinction between punishment and discipline. The more we understand that difference, the easier it is to accept the corrections from God.

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    1. You are right, Yvonne. When we understand that God isn't punishing us, but His correction is because He loves us, we can more readily accept it. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!

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  8. Such a powerful statement: “If we view correction as love instead of punishment, we can look ahead to the joy that is set before us. Submitting to His will sets us free from the prison of harmful emotions and the lies of the devil.” Correction is love. Thank you for this post.

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    1. We can have difficulty viewing correction as love but when we submit to the Father's hand, we can know He has our best in mind. Thank you, Dawn, for sharing. Blessings!

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  9. Thank God for His loving discipline. Like my earthly father, He never disciplines without good cause.
    Very meaningful post. Thank you, Barbara.

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    1. Thank you for sharing. We can know that our heavenly Father never disciplines without good in mind. Blessings!

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  10. A wonderful example from your childhood to show a father's love and discipline. I'm so glad you have good memories of your dad. Your message is uplifting and inspiring. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you for sharing, Katherine. Blessings!

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