“You must hate me!”
Those words from my 13-year old son sting. No, I may not be happy with his grades, or want him to stop antagonizing his brothers, but How could he think for even a minute that I hate him?
He was my dream come true– I had wanted to be a mom since I was his age. I had spent every waking, and many sleeping, moments thinking, praying, and worrying about that tweedle from the moment I found out he was on his was into the world.
The bible tells us that God sees us as His children. In Psalm 2:7 the Lord tells David, “You are My son. Today I have begotten you.” (NKJV), and in John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (NKJV)
Once we accept God as our Father, accept Jesus Christ as the bridge to restore our relationship with God, and the Holy Spirit as the guide to help us live our lives in a way that will make Him proud– we automatically are adopted into the family of God. That means God sees us through the same lens that we see our own kids– only He parents perfectly.
I tell my boys that there is nothing they could ever do to make me stop loving them. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let them get away with doing things that could harm themselves or others, and it doesn’t mean I’ll bail them out of jail. But it does mean that my heart will always and forever be pointed in their direction, hoping and praying for them to be men of Godly character, intervening when necessary to try getting them back on track if they start heading in an unsafe direction, ready to support them in achieving their dreams, wants, and desires in every way possible.
When I hear people ask how God could love them, I get it. I understand the uncertainty. I’m a sinner. I’m a Christian, I have salvation, I’m a daughter of the King, but I still screw up all… the… time. But so do my kids, and as an imperfect parent, I continue to love them in spite of it. God is perfect, and He’s the perfect parent– how much more capable is He of being able to see through our imperfections and failings and love us anyway?
Salvation, the opportunity to be saved isn’t about us and our ability or inability to check off some list of qualifications in order to be accepted into God’s family. You just have to ask, and you’re in. That’s it. And then you get all the rights and privileges of being a child of God, loved unconditionally. That doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes, and it doesn’t mean that He’s going to shield you from the consequences of those mistakes. But like the perfect parent He is, He will never leave you high and dry in the middle of tough times, and there will be nothing you can ever do to make Him stop loving you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cheering for YOU!
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