Sunday Morning Service, January 12, 2014
Like the original recipients of this letter, we may wonder why God allows us to suffer hardship and persecution in the “race set before us” (12:1). But the author again urges us to endure, this time by reminding us of the lesson from Proverbs 3:11–12 which corrects our view of reality: God is not a cruel tyrant punishing his followers; he is a loving father disciplining and training his children. Looking at our struggle as a father-child relationship teaches us at least three profound truths about the discipline of our loving Father.