“because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in”
~ Proverbs 3:12
Hi Ben and Meg,
Are you being disciplined by your ma and dad? Are you required by your ma and dad to eat all your food, to pick up all your toys, to go to bed at a certain time, to . . . or do your ma and dad let you leave the table without eating all the food that was on your plate, to leave all your toys scattered all over the floor, to stay up until you feel like going to bed, to . . . why do you think that your ma and dad expect you to do the things that they have told you that they want you to do? Would you rather have your ma and dad have house rules that they expect you to obey or would you rather that your ma and dad let you do in your house whatever it is that you want to do? Your ma and dad need to want to discipline you. Why? The Bible talks about discipline. There are chapters in the Bible that are like discipline gold mines. These Bible chapters are filled with all kinds of different truth nuggets. The Proverbs Book is filled with true sayings. Each true saying is a mini message for your ma and dad and for you. Each mini message has all kinds of value. Each mini message or verse is to be explored, thought about and applied in your lives. God had Solomon write down the things that He had taught him. It is good to write down the things that God has taught you or is teaching you. What Solomon wrote down will help you live your lives. What Solomon wrote down helps you to know what you are to do if you want to please and to bless God. If you are hearing God speaking to you through what Solomon wrote, it means that God is opening up your ears and your hearts to what He wants you to hear. God speaks to you from His Word – the Bible. When you think of the Bible, you need to think of a book that is alive. What makes the Bible alive are the words that make up the Bible. The words are talking to you, they are telling you truths and they are guiding you on how you are to live your lives on planet Earth.
Proverbs 3 is a smorgasbord of mini messages or true sayings. A smorgasbord is like a buffet. There are all kinds of different things which are to be chewed on, swallowed and digested in this chapter. While your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, your grandmaa and grandpaa memorized about one hundred Bible verses. Your grandmaa wrote different Bible verses on index cards – which your grandmaa and grandpaa carried around with them. Your grandmaa and grandpaa almost every day would practice saying by memory the different Bible verses to each other. Why do you think that your grandpaa decided that he wanted to memorize verses? When your grandmaa and grandpaa were living in Aberdeen and attending the Alliance Church there, your grandmaa and grandpaa rarely missed going to a Wednesday night prayer meeting. The guys, gals and kids who showed up at a Wednesday night prayer meeting would first sing together, they then would hear a devotional or a teaching and then they would pray with someone who they had not prayed with recently. The Wednesday night prayer meetings were always a special time. Then one Wednesday evening – during the Wednesday night prayer meeting, the guy leading the meeting decided to have a competition. This guy wanted to find out who knew more verses by memory between the gals and guys who had shown up for this Wednesday night prayer meeting. Your grandpaa knew a couple of verses by memory but . . . because your grandpaa by now was one of the church’s elders, was the teacher for the senior high Sunday School, was behind a systematic door to door visitation program where those going door to door would share the Four Spiritual Laws and was with your grandmaa the ones who began a married ‘Couples Club’ in the church, your grandpaa was really embarrassed that he did not to know more verses than what he did. When your grandpaa left the church that evening, your grandpaa was really convicted to memorize more Bible verses.
Two of the very first verses that your grandmaa and grandpaa memorized are in Proverbs 3. It would be easy to write about those two verses – verses 5 and 6, as your grandpaa has thought often about these two verses over the years. Your grandpaa has used these two verses in devotionals that he has given. These verses instruct and promise. Verse 5 tells you that you are to trust in God – that you are not to trust in yourself. Verse 6 tells you that you are to let God lead you where He wants you to go – that when you let Him lead you that He will lead you. Your grandpaa today though would like you to reflect on the words that make up verse 12. The verse says “because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in”. Your grandpaa’s dad disciplined your grandpaa. Your grandpaa had chores each day that you grandpaa’s ma and dad expected your grandpaa to do. Your grandpaa was expected to feed the cows each evening and your grandpaa was to milk a couple of cows by hand in the morning and at night. Your grandpaa’s dad could have fed the cows and he could have milked by hand the couple of cows that your grandpaa milked but . . . your grandpaa’s dad was teaching your grandpaa discipline. To be disciplined is good. Your ma and dad can easily let you leave the table without eating all your food, they can easily pick up all your toys at night and they can easily let you stay up until when you want to go to bed. Your grandpaa has a feeling that you are being disciplined by your parents. Your grandpaa and grandmaa disciplined your dad. Being disciplined is not being punished. To be disciplined per Solomon is to have someone – especially your ma and dad, help you to grow up knowing what is always right to do. A ma and dad who love their kids, will show their love by disciplining them. You will be disciplined by God – just as your grandpaa was when your grandpaa realized that it was important that he memorize Bible verses. When you consent to what God says to you through others, you are accepting discipline.
Proverbs 3 (35)