By John Grant
_____________________________
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.â€? Hebrews 12:5-6
This was a rough week around our house, as we lost a loved one…. our son Jamie’s black Labrador retriever. Cole was such a good dog. Everyone loved him. Somehow the backyard gate got left open and Cole decided to take an evening spin around the neighborhood…. one from which he never returned, after being hit by a passing car. We have been in a state of shock and sadness ever since.
We all loved that dog so much, but we love our son even more and when he cry’s, we cry. Cole was such a wonderful dog, but largely that was because he had such a wonderful master. Jamie picked him out, as a puppy, then trained and disciplined him in such a wonderful manner and in turn Cole brought out the best in our son. He and Cole were an inseparable team. Cole was devoted to his master.
Â
Some would say he was only a dog, but that’s easy to say when you are talking about someone else’s dog. Cole was our dog and his loss is our loss. He was someone very special in our life. Some would say there might be bigger life storms later and maybe (probably) there will be, but this is today’s storm and it hurts. Some would say, fix it now and go get another dog, but maybe they have never had to go through the process of saying good-by to a much loved part of the family. Some will say that time heals, but if all you have to rely on is time, then all it does is to cover the scars.
As Jamie was talking about training Cole this week, he made a poignant observation. He talked about the times when Cole would run beyond his allotted bounds and how Jamie was spank him and pinch his ears to train and discipline Cole. He talked about how he didn’t want to hurt his beloved dog, but how he needed to teach him to protect him. He said that he always somehow tried to tell Cole that the discipline, hurting as it was, was done from love to protect him from danger and was for his own good. He told him that his father knew best and loved him enough to hurt him in order to protect him.
God does that to those He loves too. Hebrews 12:5-6 “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Often God needs to get our attention in a way that often hurts, but He does it because he loves us and wants to protect us as Jamie wanted to protect his dog.
Cole was a wonderful dog, who had a wonderful master, one who cared enough to train and discipline him from the dangers of the world. So too, do we have a wonderful and awesome God who loves us enough to whack our backside and pinch our ears, to protect us from the enemies of life and one who wants our total focus and adoration.
Our father knew best and loves us enough to hurt us in order to protect us. Do you focus on God and adore him as a dog adores his master and do you accept His discipline for your own good. ( a thought on life from John Grant )
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2008/09/05/jg_father-knows-best/
**************************************
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney. He is an active writer and frequent speaker. He can be reached by e-mail at John.Grant@johngrant.net