They say you gain wisdom as you grow older. It’s so true. I did many things as a young man that I would never ever do today. Like my motorbikes.

I had no fear. Took chances and drove much too fast. I have goosebumps when I think about that today. The angels had to work very hard to prevent me from killing myself.

You get wiser as you grow older, because sometimes you had to learn the hard way what works and what doesn’t. You learn what is good for you and what is not so good. You learn what costs you and what energises you.

Before I got to Sub A, I had already broken my arm three times. I learnt not to play “Open the gate” with jerseys tied together. I learnt not to climb a willow tree with rotted branches. I also learnt not to chase a pine cone across a cement floor. It’s slippery and if you fall, you will break your arm.

I learnt the hard way what not to do if you don’t want your arm in a cast.

Now that I’m older, I realise that I could’ve learnt much quicker if I had been prepared to learn more from others and not try everything on my own. That stubbornness often ended in a scolding by my mom or even a hiding from my dad. It was their job to keep me on the right road and to ensure that I don’t kill myself.

¹⁰While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. ¹¹But 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 grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

God is busy shaping us. Hy is busy teaching us what it means to be holy and live holy. Holy means to be set apart for God. But my ego, my own self, forces itself between us and God’s plan.

The own self went wrong with the fall and is pulling in the wrong direction all the time. It pulls away from God and hampers God’s plan to set us apart for Him. Sometimes, there has to be an obstacle in our way to put the own self in its place, so that we can be set apart for God.

It’s definitely not nice to be punished. Sometimes, we’re in sackcloth and ashes because of it, and then we feel very sorry for ourselves. Then we have to borrow wisdom from our elders and realise that God is busy with a plan. A long-term plan to shape us so that we can enjoy its fruit one day.

So, we have to learn from our mistakes. We have to learn from hardship. We have to learn that God loves us and that we have to do His will on earth. Then we will be blessed with peace beyond our comprehension.

Let’s try it.

Scripture
Hebrews 12:4-11

Reflection
Where have you crossed the boundaries?
Were you punished for it?
What lesson did you learn for the future?

Prayer
Father, I know I sometimes fall. I know I pay a heavy price for that. Please help me to learn and not to do it again. Help me understand that You are busy with a process to set me apart for You more and more. Amen.