Reflection

Downloadable Reflection Guide

Hebrews 12:7-11

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his   holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Life comes at you fast. If you are not careful, life can fly by without much of our own notice. Our culture encourages busyness over reflection. There is almost a stigma if we are not seen as busy enough. We compete with colleagues to see who can demonstrate that they are the most active.

Some of us have a hard time slowing down long enough to properly assess the use of our time, let alone to reflect upon both the good and the bad taking place in our lives. God teaches us through His disciplining of us. Our discipleship comes often through reflection upon how God disciplines us seeking to form in us spiritual maturity. The goal is our holiness, or more accurately an imitation of His holiness. God’s discipline calls us back from our indulgence in sin and toward the following of His law.

God’s law restrains our evil and shows us the right way to relationally engage with God and with one another. In Christ and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit we are adopted by our heavenly Father. We are made into sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet, in our continued struggles with sin, we do not always behave as children of God. 

Yet, in Christ, the discipline of discipleship reshapes our hearts and minds into more of a reflection of His own.   Paul makes the point that at times this discipline will seem “painful rather than pleasant”. However, he goes on to note that “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” This is the fruit of our discipleship. The pains that we endure, and the suffering that we go through, shape us in our following Christ as His disciples. Our reflection upon the comings and goings of our daily lives gives us the space in which to learn and be guided by our Lord.      

Thoughts for Reflection

How might you spend more time in reflection as a part of your discipleship in Christ?