Our friend Kenny suffered from polio as a child. Polio twisted his limbs and left him crippled and weak. Kenny’s parents invested in physical therapy for Kenny. Kenny hated the painful sessions. He begged his parents to stop them. He cried at the pain.

Polio also crippled Kenny’s cousin. Her parents bought her the best wheelchair. When she was the age to live alone, they invested in designing a kitchen and bath suited to her wheelchair.

Kenny hated the physical therapy his parents made him suffer, but he loved the results. Kenny’s limbs strengthened. He gained mobility and was able to walk, play outdoor games, ride his bike, and enjoy activities he could never have experienced if he’d been tied to a wheelchair. When he became a father, he could carry his babies and get on the floor and play with them.

Let’s consider our struggle against indwelling sin to be like Kenny’s and his cousin’s struggle against the effects of polio. Which parent best describes how God treats us in Hebrews 12?

Hope from Hebrews 12

“In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
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My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?
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While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!” (Hebrews 12:4-13 The Message).

Listening to Kenny’s cries of pain surely tempted Kenny’s parents to stop his physical therapy. But they remembered the goal. Their love compelled them to persevere and Kenny to grow strong.

When pain makes us want to resist God’s training, let’s remember Kenny and his parents. Our Father has our best in mind. And isn’t that what we really want?

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Blessings,

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