ON BEING A PARENT
There are few callings in a lifetime which offer the potential for higher highs and lower lows than that of parenting. Looking back at my life, I am certain I contributed to many sleepless nights for my parents. From birth we are amazed at the wonder of our newborn child. We have dreams and aspirations we hope to see unfold in their lives. Typically, the love we feel for them, is perhaps a deeper emotion than we have previously experienced. A very different love than our love for our spouse. We may have thought we could not love anyone or anything more than our wife or husband. Without question, the birth of a child opens a new chapter in the storybook of life. I remember after the birth of my youngest daughter, seeing her change daily, watching in amazement each new movement. I can only express thoughts from my perspective as a father. Certainly, the emotions a mother experiences are heightened many times over.
For myself, and I suspect for some who read this, grasping the truth that God loves me is an ongoing process. I often read or hear the phrase “God loves you”. To realize God, the creator of everything that exists, would give a second of thought to me, is a stretch. In my reading and study of The Bible, I have come to understand and believe this truth. God is my Abba Father. (Galatians 4:6) God The Father is a perfect parent and our example. The Bible, the complete and unabridged parenting guide. You may be saying a resounding yes in agreement, or wondering what in the world is he talking about. In the years I have been a Christian, I have thankfully gained some understanding, into the love God The Father has for each person and His Creation. In 1st John we learn we have the capacity or ability to love God because He first loved us. Read 1st John 4:19 and 1st John 5:1-4. We did not say or do anything to deserve, gain or earn God’s love. He chose to love us. There is nothing we can say or do that would change His love, or cause him to stop loving us or love us more or less than he does. It has taken me years to grasp and accept this truth. I have known it from the time I became a Christian. I am learning to understand it more as I live it out. It causes me to want to be a better parent and love my children and others, in ways that are more like the way God loves me. I believe that is God’s desire for each of us. Embracing Him and realizing the depth of his love, changes us, and enables us to love others more like He loves us. Our Heavenly Father is our example of a perfect parent. He is challenging us to love more in the way we are loved by Him.
A prayer for myself and for you, “Father, help us understand and accept your love. Enable us to love you and each other more in the same way”. Amen