The Lord says: My son, when I correct you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged. I train the ones I love, and punish those I acknowledge as sons.
Paul emphasizes that suffering is part of our training, and reasons that it will bear fruit in peace and goodness. Ig says that discouragement is never from God because it clouds faith and hope. He contends that God's love does not deal in punishment as human vengence does. Rather God is inflicting the pain (or at least allowing it to be inflicted) in order to bless us.
We sheep know that that Rod can really HURT! If we see it coming we are SO outta there! The wilder ones in our band of brothers eventually notice that there is a lead sheep who seems to understand more about that Rod than we do, and if we follow that lead sheep the dreaded Rod seems to not be whacking us as much. Eventually we are seeing the Rod, and if we move away it thankfully doesn't whack us at all. And YUM! today's forage sure hits the spot, and this flowing fresh water is exquisite! Lookey there, bro', that lead sheep is moving again! Sure enough, there is the Rod. And now the whole herd is moving! Well, almost the whole herd. That one over there is hiding so he can stay here, what are you going to do?
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