“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
The childish nature
Basically, children love to ‘push one’s buttons’ and see how far they can get away with misbehaviour. Even a few months old baby can provoke its parents. They can deliberately choose to ignore instructions; potentially leading to accidents or injuries.
The self-will of our children can sometimes become overwhelming, when we’re trying to look after them as best we can. So, what’s the solution?
A call to love
Today’s scripture shows that God consistently loves us, and His mercies toward us are renewed each day. We sometimes withhold mercy from our children or harbour resentment against them for something they’d said or done in the past. ‘Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy’ (Matthew 5:7) is a scripture that should also apply to our relationship with our children.
Evidently, as Christians, we’ve been called to live a life of love (1 Corinthians 13). Love that bears ALL things and endures ALL things (1 Corinthians 13:6). So, let’s not be tempted to ‘wash our hands off’ our children, especially when they hit teenage. We need to daily dedicate time to pray for our children to know Christ, so that they can be strengthened to live a life that’s pleasing to Him (Philippians 2:13).
What next?
The next time our children step out of line, we must let the words “steadfast love” reverberate in our minds. May the Holy Spirit continue to empower us to emulate our heavenly father (Romans 8:14), Amen.
Prayer Points
-
- Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of parenthood
- Holy Spirit, help me to daily live out the fruit of patience/ long-suffering in my parenting style
- Holy Spirit, help me to be merciful and constantly show ‘steadfast love’ to all my children