At This Moment

At this very moment, I am listening to my youngest son wail in his crib.  It is not a pleasant sound by any means, but I am at least aware of the cause of his distress.  This is the night my wife and I have decided to take away the pacifier.  This is our third child, so we've been through this routine before, and he's held on to his far longer than his older brothers did, but I'm not sure our experience is making it any easier for him (or me) at this moment.  I can hear him now...Let my cry come before you, oh Lord; give me understanding, according to your word (Ps. 119:169).

Poor little man.  He probably thinks he's being punished, though that is not the case at all.  It's just time to grow.  I know we'll push through this stage eventually; I just hope it will happen sooner than later (to my more compassionate friends...relax...mom just went up the stairs to the rescue).

None of us like to hear our loved ones suffer.  Not in the slightest.  Not even God.  The Scriptures, however, can challenge us with the idea that the dynamics of love and discipline have greater similarity than we might first imagine.  In our spiritual lives, what we consider as negligence on God's part may in fact be the wisdom of holy restraint.

Believing that God is more than a cosmic bellhop or catering service, the lesson from Hebrews 12 is magnificent in its explanation:

My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.  Endure trials for the sake of discipline.  God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?...discipline seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (5-7, 11).

In the time it took me to write this, my youngest son has fallen asleep.  After a few consoling gestures accompanied by words of assurance from a credible source, life is good.  He may not have gotten his pacifier back , but he did get a new understanding of his little world.  The "peaceful fruit of righteousness" is now his...and mine!   

Thanks be to God!