“the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,” Prov6.23 ESV
Brenda and I actively train our white lab Maggie. Another word for train is discipline and another word for discipline is spanking. Dogs understand the language of pain. To safeguard the life of our precious lab, I used to spank her every time she stepped into the street. Maggie does not possess the mental faculties that would enable me to reason with her about the dangers of being run over by a car. These days, Maggie will not step into the street. The reproofs of discipline are a way of life for her.
Now God will certainly use pain and the fear of it to teach us, and especially if we have not matured to the point where we respond to the language of reason or better yet, simple love. Many people in our day would expunge any idea that a loving God would use pain and fear. I think C. S. Lewis responds well to such notions. “I am…far from agreeing with those who think all religious fear barbarous…and demand that it should be banished from the spiritual life. Perfect love, we know, casteth out fear. But so do several other things--ignorance, alcohol, passion presumption, and stupidity. It is very desirable that we should all advance to that perfection of love in which we shall fear no longer; but it is very undesirable, until we have reached that stage, that we should allow any inferior agent to cast out our fear.” 8/27/2008 ts
Just me trying to be honest with God.
