“Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

As a child, we love our parents even through discipline. We understood that even though the discipline hurt for the time being we did not hold on to the hurt until some time in our teenage years. Then we began to think for ourselves and figured we knew best. And maybe we had parents that disciplined us too harshly and ruined our view of God as Father. Or we had parents that disciplined us too lightly and ruined our view of God also. Or maybe we had the perfect parents that perfectly disciplined us and help mold the correct image of God. 

If we had parents that were too harsh in their punishments and we hear God punishes His children and we resort to the way our parents disciplined us then we may say, “No, thank you. I cannot worship a God who will punish me for my sins.” Because we see Him dealing out stiff punishments that would amount to Him throwing lighting bolts on us when we sin. I have news for us. God does not punish us that severely! But rather punishes us for our benefit, not to our demise.

If we had parents that let us roam free with no punishments for our actions and we come to find God and find out that He punishes us for our sins as our parents did. Then we think no big deal, God will overlook anything we do. So then we do whatever we want through the week and seek forgiveness on Sunday. We find us leaning on grace too much. And not looking for the discipline that is good for us.

Then there are the parents in the middle of these two extremes. The parents that molded and shaped us during discipline that said, “This action is wrong and we want you to stop.” This discipline was backed up with actions that effectively stop the behavior that our parents saw that was wrong. God’s discipline is the use of effective actions to stop the sin behaviors that God wants to get rid of in our life. He does not use fear, but love. He does not use intimation but kindness. He does not use it for our demise but for our benefit. He does not use it for our death, but for our life. 

No doubt that someone will say that, “Since God does not use discipline for our death, but our life, then why would He send someone to hell to their death.” Because He has also given everyone the opportunity to choose life through His Son. If you choose to not live for Jesus then you are choosing to go to Hell. It is not God sending you there but it is your choice.  God’s heart and God’s motive is not the anyone should perish, but that everyone should repent and live.

“For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/jhn.3.17-18.hcsb