THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! You are welcome to the pages of our “Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! We are still talking about why God allows pain and suffering in our lives; His goal is to draw our attention and draw us near to Himself to correct and to discipline us. I want to make sure we understand the difference between discipline and punishment. We are going to talk about that right now. These two words are often used as synonyms, yet they are not the same. Punishment is a sentence pronounced by court after it has established someone’s guilt. Punishment is a reprimand or a fine. Discipline, on other hand, includes some measure of judgment or punishment, but it goes a step further: discipline is meant to correct, instruct or cause changes in the life of a person that has been wrong . Besides, discipline requires some type of compensation or remedy that would prove that the guilty one has admitted his quilt and is deeply sorry. An offender might say: “I am sorry for what I did. Please, forgive me!” It is discipline that helps such a person to see that he is guilty and has offended other people and has caused damage to them. 
 THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME: «As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
 Repentance is the right reaction to discipline! Sin never is just one’s personal business, so to speak. Sin is not something you do to yourself; sin is something that inevitably affects others. Based on the Word of God, allow me to say very clearly that parents should discipline their children and use spanking or ‘a rod’ as one of the method. It says in the Bible: 
 “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly» (Proverbs, 13:24).
 We also read that: 
 «Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him»(Proverbs, 22:15).
 Considering all this, we can make the following conclusion: if love is the foundation or prerequisite of discipline, then if we punish our children by rod or spanking without love, we offend our children and abuse our parental authority. The purpose of a rod is not to hurt a child for his bad behaviour. A rod is meant to teach the children to distinguish right from wrong. Do not spank your children in anger or when you’re ‘out of love’. When we understand that the basis and the necessary prerequisite of discipline is love we can see the goal of discipline: it is to protect them from the difficulties and problems that come into a person’s life as a consequence of sin and rebellion. Through discipline we as parents teach our children the truth that sinful pleasures are fleeting but have serious consequences. Through discipline we help them see that it is better to choose the life of obedience and righteousness, than to get all the riches of the world but be far away from God and His standards. God disciplines every one of us for the very same reasons. We will continue on this tomorrow! I wish you God’s abundant blessings! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Similar Posts

  • Sacrifice as a measure of love! IV

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    I want to tell you that singing to God, praising Him, enjoying His presence is not a difficult task at all, if we will only take a moment to reflect or think of His grace. Even when you are having very hard times in life, you can still find something in your life that you can thank God for. Even when you think everything in your life is falling to pieces and your situation is the worst on earth, nevertheless, continue to believe – you simply have not encountered a situation that is worse than yours. But, when you see such a situation, you will find that you live in paradise.

  • Organization of effective prayer life IV

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Prayer is meaningful time with God.I will explain what I mean by that. Quite often I use the word ‘time’. Prayer is one of the means of organizing and managing the time we have been given. What is the topic of our prayers is a very interesting question. We all talk about it. There are so many books written on prayer. But who is the person who prays truly effectively? This is a very serious question. God desires us to arrange our lives for effective prayer; it will take our ministry and our whole life to a much higher level.

  • The example of accountability in the life of apostle Paul

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Who was Paul? He is the greatest apostle ever, one who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament. He had access to the revelations like nobody else. He got to know God more than any other apostles.«Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you». (2nd Peter 3:15).

  • Lust brings sin, and sin brings death III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Love destroys the power of lust; where there is love, wounds are healed and prosperity comes. Love is the nature of God and when we become partakers of His essence we escape from corruption that rules in this world.«..as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust» (2 Peter, 1: 3-4)

  • We are the new creation in Christ Jesus, made for good deeds the Lord has determined for us

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works …» (Ephesians 2:10).God has created you with a purpose. We are created and made for ministry on this Earth. Life without purpose is similar to a movement without a direction. Once we clarify who we are in God and what He has done for us – we immediately realise why we are here in this world. So we are made for good works.