When a lost man leaves this world, he finds himself in the midst of the inconceivable judgment of hell (Luke 16:19-31). Yet, when a saved person leaves this world, he finds himself in the glorious presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) and in the midst of inconceivable joys (Psalm 16:11). Most Christians have heard about the many mansions in the Father’s house (John 14:2), but the Bible also speaks of the absence of tears, death, sorrow, and pain because “the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Not only is eternal life going to be great for the believer because of the absence of these things, but even more so because of the presence of the One who died so that believers might have that life.
Man made himself the enemy of God when he chose sin (Romans 5:10), but God had no desire to remain man’s enemy so He provided the ultimate solution. Instead of returning man’s hatred, the Bible says that “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The Lord knew man could never justly find salvation through his own merits and works (Titus 3:5). God knew man could never be reconciled on his own. Rather than simply allow countless multitudes to go to hell without hope, the Lord determined to provide Himself as the sacrifice for man’s sin. Man would not be dependent upon his own faulty righteousness, but on the righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:18-20).
Even though God’s motive and desired outcome of chastening both prove to be a blessing to believers, believers do not always react properly to the chastening hand of the Lord. Some respond to God’s chastening by becoming bitter against the Lord, frustrated that they are reaping what they have sown. Others respond by becoming weary from the pressures of the process of chastening. Yet others might respond by running away from the things of God once they realize that God wants them to grow beyond their present level of Christianity. None of these are the proper reaction to chastening. The only proper response to chastening is given in Revelation 3:19: “be zealous therefore, and repent.”
One who has little understanding of chastening might suggest that God’s chastening is an act born of hatred, but it actually represents an overflowing love from the heart of God. God expresses His motives for chastening His children in Hebrews 12:6 when He says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” Again in Revelation 3:19 the Lord says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” This again displays a distinction between punishment and chastening. The source of punishment could be construed as anger, justice, or wrath, but the motive of true biblical chastening involves the purest form of love. This means that chastening does not merely benefit the one implementing the chastening, but takes place for the good of the one chastened.
Earthly parents sometimes chasten their children according to their own pleasure, but the Lord chastens His children ONLY for their profiting. In addition, earthly parents will sometimes err by disciplining their children for convenience to end the child’s inconvenience brought upon the parent. The end goal turns out to be the satisfaction of the parent rather than the sole good of the child. However, in God’s dealings with His children, He chastens for the benefit of the one receiving the chastening. He uses His chastening to help make His children partakers of His holiness. When they have done wrong, He wants them to repent (Revelation 3:19). When they have gone astray, He wants them to find correction (Job 5:17). God, as a Father, always chooses to do what is best for His children. It is always exclusively for their profit!
In the most basic sense, punishment is directed toward those who have done wrong. Though any particular punishment may seem harsh by those receiving the punishment, God intended it to be a calculated response toward wrongdoing. Though there are some passages in the Old Testament that indicate punishment was directed toward the people of God (Ezra 9:13; Hosea 12:2), the vast majority of references demonstrate that it was intended for the enemies of God (Psalm 149:7; Proverbs 11:21; Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 13:11; Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 26:21; Isaiah 27:1; Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 46:25). A careful study of the New Testament will strengthen the distinction as there are no references to God punishing His people.
God often allows problems to enter people’s lives in order to facilitate His initial plans. For example, God had already expressed His desire to Abram for him to separate from his kindred. For various reasons, Abram had not obeyed God up until this point. In order to bring about God’s desired will, He allowed conflict to enter between the herdmen of Abram and those of Lot. The solution to this unnecessary conflict was quite simple. Abram suggested that they part ways (God’s initial plan) and Abram turned toward the land of Canaan (God’s initial plan). The Lord used the same tactic in the early church to get them to spread out and to preach His word outside of Jerusalem (see Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1).
True loyalty never wavers without sound justification. The book of Revelation reveals that believers in Smyrna were going to face various difficulties such as imprisonment, trials, and perhaps even martyrdom. In the midst of these calamities, the Lord admonished them to be “faithful unto death.” God’s people have always had their loyalty to the Lord tested. If loyalty occurred naturally, everyone would exhibit loyalty. True loyalty is not something a believer possesses in the absence of adversity. Rather, adversity provides the means for loyalty to excel. In fact, it was in the face of the adversity of crucifixion that the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified His loyalty to both mankind and the Father. In doing so, He set forth an example that every believer ought to willingly follow and exemplify.
Two of the greatest opportunities within godly homes revolve around time spent at the family altar and time spent together at the supper table. Both interactions help to develop a cohesive family unit and an unbreakable bond. The family altar helps the family to get to know the Lord while the family table enables the family to get to know each other. The psalmist speaks of the blessing of having children around the table (Psalm 128:3). Some may wonder if this is some other table, but the context of Psalm 128:2 is that of a meal. Families historically placed great importance upon gathering together around the table as much as possible. Today’s disintegrating familial unit usually has each person grabbing his or her own food only to rush off into some other room for work or pleasure. These times of gathering need to be given precedence in order to offer any hope of restoring the family unit.
Rarely does man have the opportunity to participate in heavenly activity while still on earth. Singing is one of those rare events that enables the Christian a glimpse into a heavenly behaviour. Job chapter 38 sheds light on some of the events surrounding creation when it proclaims that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). These spiritual beings saw the creation of God and could not help themselves but to burst into song. The origin of singing is heavenly, though it has been more often used in unholy ways. Not only is musick’s origin heavenly, but long after the world has sung its last song, heaven will continue to enjoy God’s gift of musick (Revelation 5:9). For this reason, God’s people should never take this for granted but enjoy this heavenly benefit as often as possible.
