The Mark of Sonship - Proverbs 3:12

When we think of God's love, we typically think of His blessings. We think of His love demonstrated by sending Jesus to atone for sin. We think of His love given to us through the multitude of blessings He showers on us daily. But Solomon points out another manifestation of God's love, which is His discipline. Solomon is teaching us a key principle that will keep us steady and focused on the wisdom's path.

The mark of sonship (the mark that we belong to God as children) is His discipline. This is where faith comes into play. We must be a people that walk by faith and not by sight, feelings, or experience. The natural man, who walks by sight, reasons that when things go bad, then God is against me. However, the person who has faith, trusts in God, and has maturity sees his situation in light of God's Word and says - God loves me. If we are governed by pragmatism, then we will not receive Solomon's word and spurn the love of God.