March 20 – The Sign of a Son (Proverbs 3:1-12)

“The Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”(Proverbs 3:12)

IN WORD:
We give no correction to strangers. Why? It’s not our place to do so; there’s no relationship there. We can take comfort, then, in the fact that God disciplines us. It implies a relationship, and not just a casual one. It implies that He loves us as children and is intent on our becoming more like Him. He does not discipline those He has given up on. He disciplines those He treasures.
Imagine a sculptor with a vision that consumes him as he works day & night on his creation. Little by little he chisels & shapes. Carefully he lets his vision take form. As the sculpture nears completion, imagine this artist just dropping his tools and walking away. Ludicrous? Of course. So is the idea of God dropping His tools before He has made us wise.
Or imagine a caring father spending years of intensive attention on his child, only to walk away before the child reaches maturity. Only a father with a drastic personality change would do such a thing, and God does not have drastic personality changes. He loved us in the beginning, and He loves us now. His correction will not cease until His work is complete and we are mature. It’s a sign of His delight.

IN DEED:
Are you going through a hard thing today? It may be discipline from the Lord to urge you to change something in your life. Or perhaps it is simply a divine stress test, planned for your greater endurance and character. Regardless of its specific cause, it is designed to shape you into His image, and it is monitored with great care — even delight — by the hand from which it comes. You would not be going through it if He did not care. You would not be in the painful process of conforming to His likeness if you were not His child. Cooperate with His work, no matter how uncomfortable his tools are. He does not use them recklessly. He uses them as lovingly as a father touches his child.

“Discipline is a proof of our sonship.” -Erwin Lutzer-