Punishment Then Restoration

I remember as a kid being punished by my parents. I remember spankings when I had really screwed up. I also remember being sent to my room prior to my punishment and then the old “disappointed in you” talk. That was sometimes more painful than the “board of education applied to the seat of understanding”! JI don’t remember ever being punished to the place that I felt like I could not go back home. I do remember hearing “this hurts me more than it hurts you”, but I didn’t believe it until I became a Dad. It does hurt the parents to strongly discipline their child. It does hurt, but differently.

In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord decided to punish His people by using another country and then starting over with restoration with a different generation. These people had been warned and they ignored the messages from the Lord. He handed them over to the Babylonians and other foreign nations.  As Jeremiah is reminding Egypt of her fate, the Lord weaves a promise of restoration into the story of His people. Check this out….

²⁷ “But do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant;
    do not be dismayed, Israel.
For I will bring you home again from distant lands,
    and your children will return from their exile.
Israel^[f] will return to a life of peace and quiet,
    and no one will terrorize them.
²⁸ Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
    for I am with you,” says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you,
    but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you, but with justice;
    I cannot let you go unpunished.” (Jeremiah 46:27-28 NLT)

I am thankful that Jesus came to introduce grace. Our God of Justice has made a way for His own Son to bear the weight of my sin and the sins of the world. He became the ultimate punishment for sin and we are the recipients of grace.  I don’t deserve it. I can’t earn it. Restoration is the gift of life from my Father in heaven.

I hate to hurt His heart.

I hate when I do stupid things.

I hate when I ignore His call upon my heart.

I’m thankful for His patience and His restoration of me.

Pressing On!

Dwayne