Discipline & Grace

Where is your life taking you?

How do you show grace while still disciplining someone or making a point?

HOW WE DISCIPLINE

Parents understand this. You may discipline a child, give a consequence, take something away, or put them in time-out, yet you don’t stop loving them. You still feed them. You still protect them. You still tuck them into bed.

As adults, sometimes discipline looks different. You may have to say no. You may establish a boundary. You may even have to walk away from a destructive situation, yet you can still love, forgive, pray, and be kind.

You can be firm and gracious at the same time.

It isn’t always either/or—either you’re tough or you’re nice. Biblical love can do both. Sometimes love comforts, and sometimes love corrects. Proverbs says, “The Lord corrects those he loves, just as parents correct the child they delight in.” (Proverbs 3:12 NCV)

REBUILDING THE MESS - EVALUATING WHAT HAPPENED

I’m reading Nehemiah right now, and it is actually a fascinating book. Jerusalem had been devastated. Its walls had been torn down, its gates burned, and God’s people had experienced exile. Nehemiah returned to help rebuild the wall, and even while they were rebuilding, enemies such as Sanballat and Tobiah mocked them, threatened them, tried to frighten them, and attempted to stop the work.

But once the wall was rebuilt, something even more important began happening.

The people started looking backward.

What happened to us? How did everything go so terribly wrong? Why did God allow Jerusalem to be destroyed? How did God’s people end up in exile?

THE RIGHT WAY TO EVALUATE OUR LIFE

So they returned to Scripture. They listened as God’s Word was read, and they began comparing their lives and their history with what God had actually told them. Nehemiah 9 becomes almost a history lesson mixed with a confession. They remembered God’s faithfulness, and then they remembered their repeated rebellion.

And right in the middle of that story we read:

“You took care of them for forty years in the desert; they needed nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell.” (Nehemiah 9:21 NCV)

Think about that.

Those forty years in the wilderness were connected to Israel’s unbelief and rebellion. God was disciplining them. Yet while He disciplined them, He fed them. He clothed them. He protected them. He guided them.

Discipline and grace—at the same time.

Hebrews 12:6 says, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” Discipline wasn’t evidence that God had stopped loving Israel. In many ways, it demonstrated that He had not abandoned them.

HOW WE SHOULD LIVE TODAY

And that brings this right into our lives.

We should trust God. We should include Him in our normal days. We should read His Word and occasionally stop long enough to ask, Who am I becoming? Where does God actually fit into my life?

Because it is incredibly easy to worship something without calling it worship.

We can worship the schedule. The activities. The children. The grandchildren. The business. The house. The vacations. The money. The next purchase. The next goal. Even good things can slowly become ultimate things.

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 NCV)

So where is your treasure?

BE HONEST - WHAT ARE YOUR AND MY DESIRES

Here’s an uncomfortable question: Do we really want God, or do we primarily want what God can give us?

We want His blessing. But do we want Him?

We want Jesus to save us from hell. But do we desire Jesus Himself?

We want peace, protection, provision, health, security, and a good life. But if God removed some of those things, would we still say, You are my God and I trust You?

Most human relationships can become transactional without us realizing it. We like people who agree with us, encourage us, compliment us, make life enjoyable, and don’t give us too much trouble. There is selfishness buried deeply inside every one of us. Scripture says, “All have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory.” (Romans 3:23 NCV)

But God calls us in the opposite direction.

WHAT SHOULD OUR DESIRE LOOK LIKE

Christ calls us to love people who cannot repay us. Serve instead of always being served. Forgive when forgiveness is difficult. Give rather than constantly accumulate. Love the unlovely. Care for the needy. Humble ourselves. Worship God rather than ourselves.

Jesus said, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 NCV)

That sounds restrictive until you actually begin living it.

Because strangely enough, when we surrender our lives to God, life begins to make more sense. We grow. We become freer. We become less controlled by circumstances. There is a weight underneath our feet when the storms come.

That doesn’t mean Christians are promised wealth, perfect health, easy children, successful businesses, or trouble-free lives. Jesus actually said, “In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world.” (John 16:33 NCV)

Everything good we possess ultimately comes from God. “Every good action and every perfect gift is from God.” (James 1:17 NCV) He owns it all; we are stewards. He is Creator; we are creation. He is God; we are not.

And salvation itself begins with Him. Scripture says God “chose us in Christ before the world was made.” (Ephesians 1:4 NCV) Jesus said, “You did not choose me; I chose you.” (John 15:16 NCV)

GOING FORWARD - OUR NEW VISION

That perspective changes the entire picture.

Your life is not ultimately about building your little kingdom and asking God to bless it. It is about discovering that you belong to His Kingdom and asking how your life fits into what He is doing.

So where are you right now?

What is driving your life today, next week, and this year? Where are you going? What are your dreams, goals, and desires? Where does God fit into them?

Those are very deep questions because what you choose now sets the trajectory of your life.

One day you will die. The schedule won’t go with you. The house won’t go with you. The investments won’t go with you. The cars, accomplishments, trophies, possessions, and titles will stay here.

Jesus asked the piercing question: “What good is it for people to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit their very selves?” (Luke 9:25 NCV)

WHAT ARE YOU INVESTING IN TODAY

Nehemiah’s generation was looking backward and realizing, Our ancestors made choices, and those choices eventually carried enormous consequences.

So maybe we should learn from them before we have to look backward ourselves.

What are you investing your life in?

God’s grace doesn’t mean there are never consequences. God’s discipline doesn’t mean He has stopped loving you. Sometimes both are happening at exactly the same time.

He corrects. He provides. He confronts. He forgives. He closes doors. He opens others. He may allow us to feel the consequences of our choices while never ceasing to be faithful.

Discipline and grace—at the same time.

LORD, help us see the big picture. Help me see how today fits into eternity, how this next week fits into eternity, and how this next year fits into eternity. You control my life and how long I will live, and every good thing I possess comes from You. Help me worship You, desire You—not merely what You can give me—and trust You even in the storms. IJNIP, amen. ♥️

(Wendy and I after voting)