Loving Children

It is a beautiful moment when we are handed our loving children. They are so sweet smelling and full of wonder to a new parent’s heart. It’s a moment that is hard to express to anyone. It is full of joy, beauty, happiness and a love you have never experienced.

But, what is that love and what does it mean to love children?

The beauty of God’s Word is shown through the love that He has poured out since the beginning – since creation.

On the day He created man, that beautiful sixth day of creation he shares with us the heart of a parent loving children He brought into the world.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground……..God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” Gen 1:26-28, 31a

In those words, we can see that He created man to be different from the rest of His creation. He created us in His image! That is an amazing thought to consider when we hold our babies and experience that love we have never fully felt before.

The moment a parent holds their child is their first experience of fully loving children.

Through adoption or birth, we are given the ability to love another person in a way we have never experienced before.

This feeling is not one that is like the ‘love’ the world speaks of. The ‘if it feels good, it must be love’ thought process that so easily confuses the human heart into thinking that love only wishes good things and therefore, anything negative about a person is not love.

Oh, how that tears the heart of the human race apart.

It causes confusion in all, but mainly in the heart of a parent. But, God shows us His love as we read through the Bible. We are blessed with the ways He answers prayers and the ways He holds everyone accountable for the sins they commit against Him.

Much like our Father, we are called to love our children by discipling them, guiding them and providing the proper discipline when they sin against the Father. Like our Heavenly Father, we need to be gentle, but firm. We need to point them to the beauty of repenting and growing a relationship with Christ.

And we need to remember, we are called to do this by the God who holds us responsible for our actions of sharing Him with them, while He takes on the role of opening their hearts to His love.

Loving children is beautiful and no small feat. It requires the prayers of a selfless and humble parent who realizes that even if they should have the ability to be the perfect parent, they do not have the ability to open the heart to God.  No parent can be God, only God is God and in that is the beauty of loving children.

This month, spend time loving your children by letting go of the need to save them. Love them through reflecting Christ. Be their parent, guide them, love them and let God be your Father – and their Father. He is faithful and He loves His creation…..

His love is perfect and only through His perfect love will loving children grow into loving adults.