toward maturity is proof that we are His spiritual children. If we were illegitimate, God wouldn’t take the trouble with us (12:8). Therefore, as His true children, we should strive to endure the discipline that will conform our character to His. Second, God’s discipline deepens and enhances our spiritual life (Heb. 12:9). Arguing from the lesser to the greater, the author reminds us that when our earthly fathers disciplined us, we respected them by submitting to their words of instruction and hands