Discipline vs Consequence

I was engaged in a powerful conversation the other day with a friend of mine who has been struggling to find his way in the journey God has set out for him. He is passionate about the Lord without a doubt! His heart for God's heart for the world is nearly unmatched and I just have a great deal of respect for his energy and perseverance.

The topic of the discipline of God vs the consequences of our actions jumped into our lap the other day. What's the difference? I suppose that every one of us has made choices in our lives that have produced consequences, good and bad, that we need to live with. In this conversation...the choices produced difficult consequences that are very difficult to own up to. Enter the question of discipline that God brings into our lives. There is a grey line that is translated as discipline when your girlfriend gets pregnant because you weren't careful one night, or you get lip cancer from chewing tobacco, or you become overcome with debt due to some not so responsible purchase choices. Is that the discipline of God? Maybe you partied too hard in college and you're now physically paying for some mistakes that were made a couple of nights at the Frat house. Is that pain the discipline of God? It could seem that way in our natural order of thinking couldn't it? Our normal, traditional thinking of God is this deistic view that God is outside of our world looking down on us...until we screw up. Then he intervenes and corrects our behavior. I don't believe God works that way. I believe that God is on our side and wants to see us succeed in our relationships, health, and finances. I believe he wants us to use our success to bless others and point them into a relationship with God. I believe that he is Immanuel, God with us...and will remain with us through the good, the bad, the ugly (movie reference for you old-timers!).

After all, what kind of sense does it make to tell your friend, "Hey, you've gotta try this Christianity...if not, he may give you lip cancer because of all of the tobacco you've been chewing!" Sounds funny? That's because it's ridiculously funny...and not the way of our God.

God is not a God that scares the crap out of you so that you'll make a decision for Him. In fact, just the opposite is true. He is a God of love that will walk with me through whatever difficulty I'm experiencing in my life, whether I brought it on myself or not. Would he prefer I not be an idiot and make some selfish, pain-inflicting decisions on myself. Sure, any loving parent wants their children to avoid pain. But, what does a good parent do when their child is in trouble. A good parent will walk through the pain with their child. They won't take the pain away, as badly as they want to. They will coach, nurture, and encourage. Their presence will supply wisdom, strength, and comfort. That's discipline...and many times it hurts pretty good.

The Bible gives amazing support to this all over the place. Start with Isaiah 12:2 and then do a word search of the word "strength". God's presence (Holy Spirit) provides strength, encouragement, comfort, wisdom, and direction THROUGH difficult circumstances. His plan is that we become a different person that reflects his character. Sound like a familiar dude? Jesus. Jesus was one that hung on God while here on planet earth. I'm pretty sure his life was about as difficult as it got...but he walked and journeyed with the creator of the universe to make it through. You can too!

Before you run...check out Jude 24-25
And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes.