Coming Home

When I was a small boy returning to my house in Ravelston Dykes there were occasions when my footsteps would get shorter and shorter as I attempted to delay my return. This procrastination was caused by my knowledge that I had been bad and I feared the wrath of my parents. Of course, I was wrong. It was not the wrath, but the discipline that I was about to face. I have now learnt that procrastination does not avoid the discipline of a loving father. Talking, listening and understanding, is the key to a happy disciplined family life.

It is only when we pause and contemplate our experiences of love that we begin to feel the touch of a loving hand on our life, protecting us and leading us forward to a greater love. Then we learn how much we have yet to grow in love. Discipline not only helps us handle the loves in our life, it prepares us for the love that lasts into eternity. The key to this is listening, talking to and understanding God.

How can we separate our understanding of this discipline from self-discipline?

Like all forms of external discipline, we recognise its value when we acknowledge that we are wrong. Usually it is when we have wrong thoughts, but it can also happen when we think our thoughts are good!

We know the story of Job’s advisors, but what about his encounter with God? 

Listen to what Job says – “I spoke foolishly, Lord. What can I answer? I will not try to say anything else; I have already said more than I should”. Then the Lord says – “Stand up now like a man, and answer my questions. Are you trying to prove that I am unjust – to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?” (Job 40).

Job’s friends reveal how often they misunderstood him, and Job took time to understand God. We often misunderstand our friends and it takes a long time for our understanding of God to grow.