To believe God’s children are the objects of His eternal pleasure is most exhilarating. But to believe God is pleased to chasten and crush them is less than exhilarating. And what kind of God would do this? It is the same kind of God who was pleased to chasten and crush His own beloved Son, so that He might redeem us from the curse. And why did the Father ask the Son to endure such cruelty? Because He saw the greater good rather than the immediate need. With infinite wisdom, He foresaw the blessings that awaited both the Son and His Bride. Likewise, it was Christ’s joy to be crushed for the pleasure it would bring the Father and ultimately us. May we come to appreciate not only God’s eternal pleasure in us because of our identity with Christ, but also His pleasure to chasten those He loves for purposes greater than our finite wisdom can comprehend.
-Donald Smith
The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green. Psalm 92:12-15
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