Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

Before we begin, a brief note of care and a quick translation note. I typically read from the

NIV, but today I'm using the message because Hebrews 12 can feel especially

loaded in more traditional wording. The message helps soften some of the edges and brings out

the heart of the passage. God's formation is about loving guidance, not punishment or harm.

Still, this passage uses the language of discipline and parenthood. For some of you, that language may feel tender or even painful because of harm you experienced

from a parent or authority figure.

If that's your story, please feel free to skip this episode or come back when it feels safer.

In this reflection, we're talking about growth in the context of loving formation, not

punishment, not control, and not harm.

My hope is to name what scripture is actually pointing toward and to clarify the difference

between what is formative and what is damaging. Today's reading is from Hebrews 12, 5 through 11,

the message version. Have you forgotten how good parents treat children and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the

child he loves that he disciplines. The child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you.

That's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children.

This trouble you're in isn't punishment, it's training, the normal experience of children.

Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible

God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us. So why not

embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to

them, but God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time,

discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the

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