Endurance part 5
I almost didn't go here. But I figured I might as well. Especially to end the Rant series. Just kind of drop it here and let it be what it is. Hebrews 12:7, "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" Something that we don't necessarily like to talk about in the church world. Especially weighted against grace. But I believe chastening and correcting is a part of grace. It's not condemnation. It's not kicking people when they're down. It's training up a child in the way he should go. And, by the way, you don't have to be a natural youngling with only a few years under your belt to be a child. In fact, we are supposed to be child-like in our walk with God. Not childish, throwing fits when we don't get what we want and all that sort of nonsense. But being child-like in the sense that we just believe our Daddy and let Him take care of us. Being corrected doesn't mean you are wrong. It means you are learning and growing. When you know better, you can do better. Knowing and believing that God loves us is what equips and empowers us to love Him back, by loving each other. It's almost kind of the idea of how we will never be able to connect with each other if we get so offended by each other. And, listen, sometimes I think people do try to make themselves feel bigger by making others feel smaller. I've seen that. That happens. But I think a lot of the time people do genuinely want to help. And, I'm telling you, my kid... he doesn't like to be corrected... because he doesn't like to NEED correction. I get that. Nobody goes around hoping to make mistakes in order to have someone correct them. But sometimes mistakes are made. It happens. Here's the thing though: If you never make mistakes, how can you learn and grow from your mistakes? You can't. And if you reject correction how can you learn and grow from your mistakes? You can't. Is correction fun? Probably not. But if you can endure it you can make things easier on yourself. My dad always talked about us wandering. Going around the mountain. "He'll be alright. He's just going around the mountain. He'll figure it out." And I think that's so key. We need to give people time, and space, and room... and grace... to grow. We need to let people take their journey instead of expected a finished product at every turn. We're all running the same race. But we're also at different places. Some people might be a lap ahead. Some people might be sprinting through something. Some people might be power walking. And, yes, some people might be limping along. Instead of telling them to hurry up, maybe we should slow down and help them. Maybe we should endure... and let others also endure. It's not about getting there first. It's about continuing to move forward. Tough times don't last, but tough guys do. If you can make it through to the other side you'll be better off than you were. Because you'll have learned and grown... and because you can then turn around and help people get through what you've been through. That's what being a Son is all about--taking what you've been given and sharing it. Loving people with the love you've been loved with!