You Are God’s Child

Originally posted 5/29/20

God loves us so much that he calls us his children.  1 John 3:1 (NLT) says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” Because God loves us, he calls us his children. He’s a very good father, and he’s not an abusive father. God’s love for us is perfect. You may have had a father who wasn’t kind to you, and maybe even did things that hurt you deeply. If that’s the case, I am so so sorry. Know that God the Father is not like that at all. We don’t have to fear love that comes from our father. 1 John 4:18 says,“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Even when God corrects his children, it is done in love, without fear or punishment. God’s corrections never leave us feeling condemned; instead, he makes us aware of things we are doing or thoughts we are having that do not align with him. He simply asks us to change the way we think or the actions we do so that we are more like him. 

Imagine you have a two year old. This two year old is in a playgroup with other two year olds. At first the children are all playing with toys contently. They don’t even notice the toys that the other children are playing with. Suddenly your two year old looks up and sees a toy he wants. The problem is that another child is playing with said toy. What does a two year old do? He will go up and grab the toy he wants out of the other kid’s hands and walk away. He doesn’t even look up when the other child starts to cry because they were playing with that toy first. Your two year old will walk off victorious with the toy he wanted and start playing happily. You as the parent won’t walk over to your two year old and yell at him for taking the toy. You would never shame him for taking the toy by saying things like, “How can you act so immaturely? Don’t you ever think about anybody besides yourself? You are a mean child for taking that toy away.” Since you are a good parent, you would never talk to your two year old like that. You know that your child is only two, and he was only acting like two year olds act. Instead you would likely say something like, “Hey honey, that child was playing with that toy first. You need to wait your turn to play with that toy. Please give it back.” See, you are simply correcting your child, not shaming him or condemning him for acting like a two year old. This is exactly how God sees us. He sees that we behave just like we are supposed to behave. When our behavior starts to go off track, he gently corrects us because he loves us and wants the very best for us. Remember he is our good father, who loves us perfectly. 

We see how important children are to Jesus in Mark 10:13-16, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.’ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.” Jesus tells us that we must become like children to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

What are some characteristics of children? If you have ever spent any amount of time with children, you know that they love to ask questions. Lots and lots of questions! Children are excited about the world they live in and want to know the ins and outs of everything surrounding them. Kids love learning all they can about the world. They get excited to learn new things. Teaching kids to read is one of my all time favorite things to do. I love to see the joy and accomplishment in their eyes when they start to understand that letters make sounds, and when they put the sounds together, those sounds make a word. 

Children think of life as one big adventure. When my kids were small, we moved a lot. We were moving every year or two for several years in a row. While the kids were always sad to leave friends behind, they were always more excited to see what adventures the next place we lived was going to have. 

Maybe the most important aspect of children is the fact that they feel secure because they know that their parents will always take care of them and protect them. I have a friend, Amy Evans, who had a baby a couple of months ago. She wrote a beautiful picture of what child like faith looks like when it comes to feeling secure:

“Tonight, as I was feeding [my baby], I was marveling at the amazingness of God and how He created us. I felt so much emotion looking at her sweet little face and then…she gave this little sigh. It was the sound of complete contentment. So sweet. So innocent.

Everything is right in her little world. She knows nothing of the craziness going on right now. Sometimes I wish I didn’t either…

Some days, some moments, it’s all too much. I’m overwhelmed by thoughts of the unknown. Thoughts of annoyance and anger that I wish I didn’t feel.

Thoughts of “what is the future of this world going to be for our kids?”

There’s abuse of power, throwing around of control, people living in complete and utter fear, humans flinging hate and anger towards others humans simply because they aren’t making the same choices…I could go on. and. on.

I struggle. My faith is strong, but I struggle.

But this sweet baby in my arms…she has no idea. All she knows is that when she’s hungry she will be fed, her diaper will be changed, she will be comforted and loved, and I am her world right now.

So I focus on that, and know that the Lord orchestrated the events of her arrival perfectly.

He knew we would need a bit of sweetness to focus on.

To remind us of His perfect timing and love.

To remind us of His perfectly laid out plans.

He knew. ”

My friend caught a glimpse of God’s desire for each of his children in each moment of each day. We can sigh a sigh of contentment, knowing that our father is and will take care of us. He knows when we need encouragement and will provide it at the exact right moment. God knows when we feel alone and will remind us that we are never alone. He is always with us. Whatever our need is, God is there, excited to meet it. He is our perfect father, who loves us more than we can comprehend.

Amy loves her baby, but her love for that sweet baby is but a shadow of the love that God has for her and her baby. I know that Amy will fight for her baby if she needs to. I know this about Amy because I have seen her fight for her other children ever since I’ve known her. I know that Amy will be the soft place for that baby to land when needed. I know this about Amy because I’ve seen her be the soft place for so many people who don’t carry the title of her child. I know that Amy will be the very best mother she can be, and she knows that being the best mother is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit guiding her. I know this because I see her reminding herself to keep her focus on Jesus no matter what is going on in the world. 

If Amy is able to be and do all those things, just imagine how much more God, our good father, is able to care for you. Whatever your biggest struggle, or your biggest failure, God is there with you. He is your biggest cheerleader, your soft place to land at the end of a hard day (or year), your best support system, and his love for you is far more than you can even begin to comprehend. So relax, know that God, your father, loves you and wants the very best for you. Go ask him lots of questions. He has every answer to every question you could ever ask. Get excited about this adventure called life. Let out that sigh of contentment because you know that you have a good, good father. Trust that he will provide your every need; just breathe and relax!