The Lord's discipline

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent.” Revelation 3:19 NASV

How do you feel about discipline? Generally, I don’t like it nor do I welcome it. It makes me uncomfortable and hurts my pride. But you know, when I ignore or resist it, my spiritual life becomes stunted and stagnate. Jesus spoke these words to the church of Laodicea. Remember them? They are that lukewarm bunch, neither hot nor cold, that provoked vomiting. As much as I dislike it, I find that discipline and correction is necessary to yank me out of that spiritual fog and laziness. It adds heat to my spiritual life, and best of all, it is an expression of the Lord’s love.

So, as uncomfortable and humbling it has been to me, nothing has brought more growth to my spiritual life than the repentance that comes from the Spirit’s conviction. If these are your options, which one do you prefer? Could we welcome the Lord’s discipline in our lives, in our children’s lives?