By Pastor Kristin Wenck
“As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” Matthew 7:11 CEV
One way that we can learn to experience God’s love is through parenting. Many people emphasize receiving the love of God, but when we become parents, we begin to learn another side by loving someone else the same way that God loves us. In this verse, Jesus said that even sinners know to be good to their children! The previous verse states, “If your son asks you for bread, will you give him a stone?” Most parents will do everything in their power to give their children the best life that they can, sacrificing themselves to provide for them. The second part of the verse assures us that if we feel that way about our children, our heavenly Father is even more ready to protect and provide for us.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day and our family relationships, let’s remember that there is a God in heaven who wants to have a family relationship with us. He wants to be our Father, to guide and give to us even more than we want to do this for our children—and He does it perfectly and has promised to fulfill that role forever. As children depend on their parents, we can depend on God for everything we need.
Holding your own newborn for the first time can be both thrilling and overwhelming. As much as we plan for the birth of a child, when we hold that baby it becomes real. We realize that we can no longer live only for ourselves, because there is a little person completely dependent on us for everything. They are looking to us. In the same way, we can look to our heavenly Father, and as we learn to trust and depend on Him, we receive the love that we can then give away to others, including our family.
God is the ultimate Giver and He only gives good gifts! Loving our children and being good to them can help to remind us of the love God has for us. We will always be His children and He is ready to bless us even more than we are ready to bless our children. Enjoy your day and embrace the giving side of God’s love by being a blessing to your family!
