Being Content

Good Gifts

We’ve just wrapped up in the penultimate season of gift giving. A common discussion after Christmas is reflecting upon what we have received with others. We compare our gifts with what we hope to receive and contrast them with the gifts we gave. Perhaps one of the reasons we do so is that we want to see how much reality reflects our hopes – whether the items on our “wish list” actually made it into our living rooms.

James 1:17 tells us of the gifts that God gives – or more specifically the types of gifts that God bestows on us. “Every good and perfect gift is from above,” writes the author, reminding us that nothing we have received which is good comes from any other sources. God gives good gifts and for those of us who have grown up in the church, acknowledging Him as the giver of that which is good is fairly common practice. It is the reason why we pray before meals (or at least it should be) and the reason we exclaim, “praise God” when good news is received.
It is however, important to recognize that the gifts that God gives are good beyond just their inherent worth. They are good, because they reflect some part of God’s character.  Reflect back on the gifts that you’ve recently thanked God for. Do they not reflect His mercy, His forgiveness, His love or His generosity? Isn’t there some part of Him that is reverberated through these blessings?
Similarly, when faced with bad situations, these circumstances not only often compel us to seek our Father and therefore drive us into a deeper relationship with Him, but they also remind us of the pain, despair, and destitution of live without God. They too are a reflection, a reflection of what we’ve been saved from.

May we continue the practice of regularly thanking God for the gifts He’s given. And may we do so not just because we enjoy or delight in the gift, but because they demonstrate the holy character of the Giver.

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Growth

Thanks for the Reprimand

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves,  as a father the son he delights in.  – Proverbs 3:11-12

In the syllabus I give to each of my classes, there is a section called “student responsibilities.” Under this title,  I remind every individual in my class that they are responsible for the choices that they make, and for accepting the consequences of those choices prior to making their decisions. For example, if you plagiarize in my class, you receive a zero on an assignment and the administration is notified of the violation to the academic honor code. If you miss class, you are unable to earn participation points. Because I tend to be a planner  (and because I’ve been through several semesters of teaching), included in the syllabus is a pretty thorough list of the choices that students might make and what will happen as a result. The reason I do this, and enforce the policies I’ve outlined, isn’t because I am mean. It’s because (as I tell them) I want them to realize that it’s better for them to learn that there are consequences for their actions in the relative safety of school, then when it “really counts” in their career. In other words, I do it because I care about their future and who they become.

I’m reminded that these are the same reasons that God is consistent with His discipline towards His followers.  His Word has clearly given us the directives for life, and just like Adam and Eve, we are without excuse when we choose to not follow the directions. The fact that at times, we suffer consequences for this disobedience is God’s design of bringing us back to Him.  The hope, just like my hope for my students, is that we will recognize the error of our ways and return to make choices that honor Him.

(A quick note – this isn’t to say that all bad things are punishment for our actions. For more on my take on the “problem of evil”, please click here.)

Which brings me to the point of this little excursion, if the purpose of discipline is to bring me back in alignment with God, then when I recognize that I’m experiencing His correction, shouldn’t my response be one of thanks? He could let me continue along my own, forsaken path, but instead, the consequences He allows, prompt me to return to Him? What is more evidence of His grace that even when I rebel, He desires to bring me back into relationship with Him?

Saying thanks when I receive a godly reprimand isn’t an easy thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing.

What tips do you have to rightly respond to God’s correction?

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