TODAY IN THE WORD
Dave Dravecky is a retired major league baseball pitcher and a Christian, best known for his courageous battle with cancer and his subsequent comeback to professional baseball. But later, the cancer in his pitching arm returned, resulting in amputation. Dravecky knows the joy that comes after physical training, and he is intimately aware of God’s training of his inner person.

The word repeated most in today’s passage is discipline. When we hear the word discipline, we most often think of punishment. To the original readers of Hebrews, though, this word evoked a different significance. The Greek word that translated here as “discipline” includes, but is not limited to, forms of reproof. “Instruction,” “training,” or “education” are other words that help us better understand the concept of discipline. Since the imagery of athletic games is woven throughout Hebrews 12:1-13, discipline is likened to the strict and painful training athletes must endure in order to reach Olympic qualifications. Understanding this key term is crucial to interpreting today’s passage and grasping God’s fatherly love.

If a marathon is the driving metaphor of our text (v. 1), then Jesus is the supreme gold medalist and our perfect example (vv. 2-3). Jesus endured shame and opposition from those opposed to God’s will; He did this for the future joy of God’s glory (cf. Heb. 5:7-9). The author reminds his readers of their status as God’s children (v. 5). Just as God’s Son faced suffering, God’s children will also face insult, persecution, and affliction as a result of faithfulness to Christ. The “word of encouragement” is this: God the Father disciplines or trains those He loves and calls legitimate children, just as He did His beloved Son, and this is always for our benefit. What is the purpose of this discipline? Verses 10 and 11 say, “that we may share in his holiness” and for the fruit of “righteousness and peace.” The training and discipline of the Father are painful and extensive, but the harvest is worth it.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
For many, our relationship with our earthly father inhibits relating to God as our loving heavenly Father. Perhaps your earthly father was abusive, angry, distant, authoritarian, or absent. We all “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and fathers, too, have distorted the image of God the Father. Instead of viewing God and relating to Him as if He were similar to your earthly father, pray that you would know God as He actually is and allow Him to redeem your experiences of your imperfect earthly father.

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