Thoughts on parenting

Post by: Sofia Di

[Picture by Sofia Di]

My husband and I are expecting our first child. I am 32 weeks pregnant. As my due date approaches I have started to wonder about raising my baby boy. How can I make sure he will shine in the midst of a dark world?  I am glad I have the word of my father God to teach me how to raise my children. 

God shares with us his parenting secrets in his word. God is our heavenly father.  He is a good father. His mercies and compassions are new every morning. He has given us the best gift of all; His son Jesus Christ. He wants the best for his children. I want to parent my children the way God parents his children.

 

Ephesians 5:1-2 (MSG) Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. 

The previous verses direct our attention to see, observe and receive God's love for  us. Our father teaches us by lavishing us with love and attention. We can learn from him by spending time with him. We learn of his grace when we make mistakes; he picks us up and then he restores us.  We can learn how much he loves us when we observe him taking our sin and our disease upon him.  God's love for us is extravagant and unconditional! God blesses us without expecting anything in return. He sent his son Jesus to the cross to save us regardless of whether we accept him or not.  

Ephesians tells us that children learn proper behavior by observing their parents. God's love in us will produce a tangible fruit. Our kids will be happy to eat and learn from it.  If we encounter the love of God we are transformed from the inside out. Therefore, everything around us will be transformed---including our children. Just remember, it is God's love that produces genuine fruit. "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"  Romans 2:4

If you continue to read the following verses in Ephesians 5, you will notice there is a list of "BIG No-Nos".  God knows that the cure for sin is his extravagant love and grace. That is why he asks us to receive his love. That is why it is important also to teach our kids with love and grace. "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." Romans 6:14

We can receive God's love by meditating on what Jesus Christ did at the cross. He took all our sin and all our needs at the cross. Today, because of his death and resurrection, every challenge we face will bow down at the mention of his name. " This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."  1 John 4:10

  

Dear reader, maybe you are facing challenges with your children. Maybe you are a new mom. Perhaps, you are a mom in progress---just like me. In any case, let's believe in Jesus' finished work at the cross. Only then will his spirit empower us to love like him. Only then our kids will shine in the midst of a dark world." They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household." Acts 16:31