Learned Obedience

Hebrews 5:8

“Although He (Jesus) was a Son

He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.”

I was quite the prima donna at one point in my life.  For a long time I was the center of the universe, my universe.  I thought the world revolved around me and my happiness, or lack of it.

If the Son of God learned obedience though suffering, I should have known that was how I would need to learn.  I mean come on, we’re talking Jesus here.  If the precious and perfect Son of God had to suffer, I, the chief of sinners, would certainly need to suffer.  The trick is learning to receive God’s correction as an act of love.  When I went through my darkest hours, at first I thought God was mad at me.  Then I figured He must not love me anymore.  And in course, I thought he was punishing me for all the bad things I did.  But having held on to Christ through it all, I learned the painful way of God’s love.

It’s so easy to receive His encouragement (His hugs and kisses, as I like to call them), but when He has to spank us a bit, well we don’t like that very much.  But like any good parent, discipline comes as an act of love.  God does love to lavish good gifts upon His children, but one of His most misunderstood gifts is, the gift of His correction, His reproof, His training in Righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

“All Scripture is God-breathed, and profitable for

teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness.”

It’s so wonderful to search the Word of God and be taught by it.  Such wonder and beauty is found there.  But there are three other purposes for His Word listed in the above passage of Scripture.  Reproof, Correction and Training in Righteousness.   I have learned most of my most cherished lessons through God’s loving on me in these three ways.  No, I’m not a sadistic person who loves too suffer, nor do I love to inflict suffering on others. It’s just a fact that most of us seem to learn best from our mistakes and not our triumphs.  At least this is true for me.