Charles Spurgeon Commentary Hebrews 12:6

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." — Hebrews 12:6 (ASV)

For whom the Lord loveth –

The Greek word is a strong one, and means, "whom the Lord tenderly loves."

He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Not everyone receives the same measure of chastisement, and the one who has the largest share of God's love will feel the most of his chastising hand. Are you not willing to take that portion, and to be among the Lord's tenderly loved ones?

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Oh! What comfort there is here! Whenever we are under the scourging hand of God, how we ought to be cheered with the thought that this is a part of the heritage of the children.

There are Elis who spoil their children. God is not one of them. He does not spare the rod, and the more he loves, often the more he corrects.

A tree of common fruit may be left alone as long as there is some little fruit on it, but the very best fruit gets the sharpest pruning.

And I have noticed that in those countries where the best wine is made, the vine-dressers cut the shoots very close in, and in the winter you cannot tell that there is a vine there at all unless you watch very carefully. They must cut them back sharply to get sweet clusters.

The Lord does so with his beloved. It is not anger. Afflictions are not always anger. There are often tokens of great love.