To bail or not

“Christians sin, but sin does not characterize Christians.” (BSF – John lesson 21) This phrase captured my attention last week and I have been pondering it. There are plenty of us who are prone to looking at our individual lives and believing we aren’t THAT bad. Honestly, that in itself seems a little sinful in a ‘pride goeth before the fall’ sort of way. As Christians; we really need to compare ourselves to Christ himself, we are his disciples, meaning we (should) follow the discipline of love he demonstrates for us.

Discipline: “train (someone) to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” Discipline is hard for the giver and the receiver. I am the youngest of six children, by the time I was growing up my parents were exhausted and divorced. My siblings had already put them through a fair amount of turmoil. I remember watching an episode of Bonanza as a kid and Pa explained to a young boy that parents sometimes spank their children because they love them and want them to grow up to be respectable citizens.  I did not get spanked as a child; I recall at that time wondering if my parents loved me. Of course they did.

My own children were not really spanked either and I know I love them very much. They did get the line; “I’m not mad, just disappointed.” Ouch! Whenever I consider my relationship with God from the parent-child perspective, I’m pretty sure he would use the ‘disappointed’ line on me. I like to believe I play by the rules and demonstrate a Christian character that gives God glory. Yet, I know when it is just Him and me, he sees where I lack self-control (insert sweets), when I give anger and rage a place, when I am unappreciative of my blessings and so on. He sees the real me (you too).

Have you ever considered that you have never and will never see your own face in 3 dimensions? Only other people see you physically 100% and only God sees you 100% entirely. God does discipline us because he loves us. He allows us to experience consequences for our actions. That is real love. He has already bailed us out of hell. As parents, it can be painful to not bail a child out of a situation and let them suffer the consequences. We should not be surprised when we are disciplined, we should be thankful, God loves us too much to let us continue of the path of sin. Every day is a new opportunity to build character and bring glory to God.

Hebrews 12:11 “No 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.”