DAILY MANNA THURSDAY 5TH DECEMBER, 2019 CHASTISEMENT OF TRUE SONS

TEXT: HEBREWS 12:5-13
KEY VERSE: “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (HEBREWS 12:8).
Doctor Theophilus recalls with humour and gratitude his father’s role in ensuring that he went to school. As a child, he hated going to school; he played truancy by sneaking away to play with boys who were out of school. But as soon as his father discovered it, he gave him the beating of his life and kept him in constant check, making sure he was always in school. Now, as a medical doctor with a very successful practice, he can see why his father would not give up on him but made sure he went to school even when it seemed unpalatable to him at that time.
The passage today is about chastisement from God. Chastisement is part of God’s loving care for His children. To be without chastisement means one is “a bastard” and not a true son. Fathers, some of whom are not born again, correct their children according to their understanding and those children accept it. Truly, chastisement can at times look harsh and painful but at the end, it yields “the peaceable fruit of righteousness”.
Chastisement or correction is the means by which an erring person is brought back to reason and rectitude. Obviously, children and youths of these days are not as disciplined and cultured as the older generation. This is because “the rod of correction” has not been sufficiently applied to make them more pliable and responsible. Many will argue that it is not correction that makes people behave well. But the word of God is emphatic that a child left to himself will derail.
As Christians, when we discover our inadequacies through the Word, the leading of the Spirit or through leadership, we need a humble disposition, self-examination and prayer to chisel out all rough edges from our lives.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s correction is part of His care.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: HOSEA 10–14