He lived a Huck Finn existence, coming and going as he pleased. The rest of the kids in the neighborhood considered him lucky. His parents didn’t nag him or set boundaries. Every time our mothers called us in for church or dinner, we secretly wished we had his life. He was roaming the streets late at night, going home to eat whenever he felt like it, and experimenting with whatever he wished. How lucky can you be?

From where I stood, my friend lived an exotic life. Once he showed up at our house with an owl on his arm. I mean, how many kids get to have a pet owl? Admittedly, he did a few excessively adventurous things such as putting a water snake in his mouth, so when he opened his mouth it would stick its head out and flash its tongue. Of course, his unsupervised escapades led to more devious deeds, such as tying cats’ tails together and hanging them over a clothes line to watch them fight.

As we grew up and entered high school our paths diverged, and I was aware that he was experimenting with drugs and alcohol… still doing whatever he wanted, without anyone standing in his way. It was a few years later, while away at college that someone gave me the tragic update. My lucky friend had been shot and killed in a drug deal gone bad. He didn’t even make it into his mid-twenties. His older sister met the same fate shortly thereafter. Neither of them ever knew the joys of marriage or parenthood. They never even really got to grow up.

Suppose someone had cared enough to discipline my friend. Suppose they had loved him enough to teach himself discipline. Having observed the end of a life without anyone to be accountable to give me a fresh appreciation for our Heavenly Father who loves us enough to judge us and hold us accountable.

Hebrews 12:6 declares, “For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” To embrace God is to embrace His discipline. If we trust His character, we will eagerly count on His discipline and be grateful that He loves us enough to save us from ourselves. I was the one who was blessed and loved enough to be held accountable.  That accountability made all the difference! Turns out my friend was not nearly as lucky as I thought.