“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;
neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth;
even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Pr
3:11-12 AV)
Our
human nature does not appreciate being corrected. This is true from the moment we are born to
the day we die. If it means more independence,
then we are all for the correction. Like
when a child learns to walk. He is enthusiastic
about it. When he wants to learn how
toys work or a project the is working on, then he may welcome input. But try to correct that child and he will fight
you all the way. We never grow out of this. But we can learn to appreciate it and not grow
tired of it.
As
I am getting older, I find myself welcoming the correction of God more and
more. I understand a bit of what Paul
was speaking when he shares his testimony of the thorn. God gave him that thorn to keep him for being
exalted above measure. This could mean
several things. It could mean the LORD
was concerned pride might be Paul’s downfall, so he gave him a thorn which
resulted in Paul requiring the assistance of others for the remainder of his
life. It could be God gave him the thorn
to keep his ambition in check. The
greatest saint to ever live could have accomplished much more. The LORD had a plan for his life. The thorn was part of it. I have learned that thorns are good. They are the means by which God keeps us in
check and does not allow us to become something He never intended. Sometimes, those thorns are not trials of
faith or flesh, but correction. The way
we keep from despising them or growing tired of them is to see the fruit they
produce and be grateful for it. Which
brings me back to an initial point.
The
only regret I have over these corrections is that it took these corrections to
change who and what I am. I regret the
LORD felt the need to correct in the first place. The desire for victory is there. Like all men, I simply do not have it within
my flesh to be victorious. So, the LORD
must send correction. And this saint is
truly grateful. This writer is far from
perfect. If he could see the true depth
of the reality of that statement, he may go down a road of utter despair. However, he is aware the LORD has changed
him. He is not the same person he was
thirty-seven years ago. It has been a
hard road. Not because of the LORD, but
because of the stubbornness of the writer’s heart that kept him from making
life changing choices based solely on the righteous nature of the change. No, he had to do it the hard way. But this writer is eternally grateful God
never gives up! He always corrects. And the older he gets, the more he desires
more of it because he knows the end of it.
Christlikeness at any cost!
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