"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be weary of His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father the son in whom he delights." – Proverbs 3:11-12
God is a perfect Father to all His children. If the best earthly fathers, who did what was best for their children, are able to raise good children despite their imperfections, just think how God Himself is able to train us all up to godliness and righteousness. Truly, there's no dad like our Dad.
Loving Discipline
In His great love for His children, God makes all things work out to bring us to Christ-likeness. It's God's desire that all who have come to believe in the finished work of Christ and put their faith in Him must be conformed to the image of the Saviour. He wants us to be holy like He is holy. Yes, He wants that.
Because God wants us to reflect His image and His holiness, He changes us from glory to glory. He slowly chips away the unrighteous things that are in us, slowly replacing them all with a character that will show Him and His goodness in our lives.
In doing this, God does not only encourage us and comfort us, but He also disciplines us. He chastens us, simply because He loves us. The discipline that He gives to us, no matter how unpleasant it might feel, is meant to produce holiness and His character in us.
"Now no discipline seems to be joyful at the time, but grievous. Yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness in those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)
Holy Children Like Their Holy Father
Friends, don't get me wrong: I'm not saying we should all long to be chastened when we don't need to be chastened. What I'm saying is that God's love prompts Him to discipline us as He sees fit, so that He could mould us into becoming the people He wants us to become: the holy children of the most holy God.
Know this, then, that if God disciplines us, it's not because He hates us or does not like us. On the contrary, He loves us—that's why He does that.
"Endure discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, of which everyone has partaken, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Hebrews 12:7-8)
