The fruit of discipline.
I. A LESSON FROM BOYISH EXPERIENCE. The discipline of earthly parents, while we are passing through it, is all pain and no pleasure. Even when exercised with wisdom and consideration, the discipline must be painful; and in many instances there is a needless harshness which increases the pain. Parents are apt to take the course of discipline which gives them the least trouble. But even harsh and stern discipline is better than indulgence, infinitely better than letting the child have its own way. What bitter pain men have had to suffer, because as children they suffered little or none! The boy at school finds it very hard to be kept at the desk and the book, when the sun shines bright through the window, and he hears the merry cry of other lads at play; and hard it must seem while he is going through it. But it will soon slip past and manhood come, and then how glad he will be for knowledge gained and for facility in the use of the knowledge! How he will then rejoice over the encircling rigor of the parental will!
II. THE FALLACY OF PRESENT ESTIMATES. We are bad judges of the experiences through which we are passing. A schoolboy's estimate of life is amusing to listen to, but when we come to reflect over it, the reflection makes us sad. For we know well how different things are from what he thinks them to be. And what changes there must be in his view of life before it can be, even approximately, a true one! Therefore, whenever we listen to the confident and artless prattling of boyish ignorance, let there be in it a warning for us, a fresh admonition to walk by faith and not by sight. What we know not now and cannot know, we shall know hereafter. We must not kick against circumstances, for they are doubtless the very safety of our life if we only knew it. It is the greatest folly to say that a thing must be bad for us because it is painful and straight opposite to the strongest inclinations of the moment.
III. THE DISCIPLINE OF GOD NEED NOT BE GRIEVOUS. As a general rule discipline is grievous, always grievous to the child. And even to one who is sure of his position of sonship towards God, discipline comes as a hard thing. But what makes it hard is that the flesh as yet counts for more than the spirit. Only let the spirit have free course and be glorified, and then joy will spring up in the very midst of the discipline. The man who wrote this letter, whoever he was, had not yet himself got out of the era of discipline; but the grievousness of discipline must have been abundantly sweetened by all the divinely born hopes and assurances that would throng into his heart. All the considerations here pressed upon the suffering believer are meant to bring joy in the midst of discipline. Joy especially there should be in the certainty of fruit. Youthful discipline, however careful and however successful in appearance for the time, yet may show little of result in after life. Something that no discipline can avert spoils the manhood. But we have the joy of feeling sure that God's discipline of us cannot fail if we work together with him in submissive docility and patience.—Y.
The worst perils of the Christian life.
It may be presumed that these people suffering persecution are somewhat discontented and murmuring under it. Thus persecution may become a temptation; it may bulk so largely before the eye as to hide far worse perils. It would almost seem as if the writer had the Beatitudes in mind. tie has been seeking to illustrate the blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And now in Hebrews 12:14 he urges not to lose the blessedness of the peacemaker, and the blessedness of those who are made able to look on God. There are four important counsels in these two verses.
I. THE DILIGENT PURSUIT OF PEACE. This is a recommendation both to the individual and the Church. The maltreated man is very likely to have a settled feeling of anger against the man who maltreats him. That we should behave rightly under suffering is far more important than that we should escape suffering. Notice the intensive force of the verb. The same verb is used to signify persecution. The same pursuing energy that persecutors employed against Christians was to be employed by Christians themselves in preserving a feeling of settled peace towards the persecutors. Animosity and irritation towards others, however justified it may seem by their conduct, will destroy all peace in our own hearts. Even when the necessities of duty bring us into marked controversy with others, we must in the very height of the dispute show that our aim is concord, not discord.
II. THE EQUALLY DILIGENT PURSUIT OF HOLINESS. Holiness here may be taken as the equivalent of what is elsewhere called purity of heart. That is the blessedness of the pure in heart that they are made able to look on God. Our right state towards all men is to have perfectly peaceful inclinations towards them, and doing everything that shall incline them to reciprocate the peace. Our right state towards God is to have a heart perfectly consecrated to him. And the diligent pursuit of peace and holiness must go together. You cannot follow the one without following the other. That can be no true peace towards man which is gotten by compromising our position towards God. Nor can that be true holiness which is very profuse in services to God and yet leaves room to indulge animosities toward man.
III. WATCHFULNESS TO MAKE FULL USE OF THE DIVINE GRACE. We must not lose the loving favor of God. We must keep in such paths of spiritual courage and enterprise as will preserve to us continually his loving smile. What shall we be if God be against us? It will be a poor compensation to escape trial, if at the same time we miss God's help out of our life.
IV. WATCHFULNESS TO STOP THE BEGINNINGS OF CHURCH MISCHIEF. Watch the Christian community as you would watch a garden. You have not only to nourish what has been planted so that it may bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, but you must watch against the entrance of noxious plants. In a large garden something of this kind may easily make headway unless there be the most vigilant eye upon it. All mischief must be stopped in the very beginning, if possible.—Y.
Esau—a warning.
Esau is an excellent example of what serious results may come out of sheer thoughtlessness. There were special reasons why Esau should be a careful, thoughtful, prudent man. Thoughtfulness is the need of every man in such a maze as life is continually tending to become, but the position of some makes thoughtfulness a special duty. So it was with Esau. He had the birthright. To him it specially belonged to continue and increase the prosperity and credit of the family. Yet for the sake of a single meal, because in his hunger he could not wait a little, he sold his birthright. He did, indeed, make a pretext of saying as it were, "What shall it profit me to keep my birthright and lose my life?" but this very question showed that he had never made a careful estimate of his privileges and responsibilities. The folly of Esau's conduct is plain enough to us; would that we could see as clearly how often it is reproduced in the reckless, self-destructive conduct of those to whom belongs the birthright of children of God!
I. OUR FREQUENT THOUGHTLESSNESS AS TO OUR POSITION. Esau is called a profane person. A profane person is one who treats sacred things as if they were common. Esau was himself a sacred person as the firstborn, but the thought of his peculiar position never seems to have gained real entrance to his mind. And so it too often is with us. The serious and sublimer side of life, the side that connects us with God, Christ, and eternity, is too seldom in our minds. Too seldom! Why, that is too complimentary a word as regards many; they never seem to think of this side of life at all. And assuredly none of us thinks of it as we ought to do. We are more valuable in the eyes of God than we are in our own. God looks on each one of us as on a pearl of great price, but we view the pearl of our position with only swinish eyes.
II. THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF THAT THOUGHTLESSNESS. Man is made to think, and think deeply, on his position, duties, and destiny; and to this actual course of reflection he is driven sooner or later. Man cannot escape the necessities inherent in his nature. The hint here, in this parallel from Esau, is that these reflections may come too late. Omnipotence cannot bring back the past. If you have failed to sow in the spring, you cannot reap in the autumn. Nor will you be able to escape the bitterness of reflecting that this absence of the proper harvest is your own fault. Thousands in the curlier years of life do as Esau did. They barter the joys of self-denial and holy aspiration ton self-indulgence. The fragrance of worldly pleasures rises into their nostrils, and they never stop to consider the height and depth, the breadth and length, of a life redeemed by Christ and sanctified by his Holy Spirit. Then, when the passing pleasure is past and gone, they come face to face with eternal realities, and they are not ready for them. Yet the parallel with Esau must not be pushed too far. He found no place of repentance so far as the earthly birthright was concerned. But that is not to say that Esau has lost his share in spiritual and eternal realities. Isaac could not give him the blessing that belonged to another As long as he sought the earthly blessing he might well seek with tears, and seek in vain. Along with the folly, suffering, and futile regrets of Esau we must take the folly, suffering, and profitable repentance of the prodigal in the parable.—Y.