My children are on school holidays at the moment. I love school holidays!! No lunches to prepare, no early mornings, no homework. There is also no set routine…oops… I just said the one thing that I don’t like about school holidays… oh… and when my children are bored.
In Australia, we have six weeks over the Christmas period that they have off from school. By week 3, which is just after New Year, the boys are at each other’s throat and driving me up the wall!!
When they tell me they are bored, I give them a job to do. They don’t like that.
My boys hate chores.
They don’t like mowing the lawn, helping with the dishes and cleaning their room etc. But if they want to live in my house, they must be part of a family that works, plays and eats together.
My eldest thinks he is very funny, apparently. (I think he is hilarious, but he isn’t to know that!!) Recently a conversation with him went like this –
Son: Where are my socks, Mum?
Me: In the basket of clothes that is sitting on the table waiting for you to take them in to your room.
Son: (standing in front of me) Where??
Me: You walked right past it (sarcasm dripping) You know.. it bit you on the butt as you walked by!!
Son: (returning to the table) Oh… I just need the socks..
Me: (voice now raised) Take the basket of clothes and put them away!!!
Son: No it is all good. Thanks mum for the socks.
Me: (now heading for the table) Don’t you dare…
(Rounded the corner to see an empty table and a cheeky teenager heading to the room with his basket of clothes)
Son: Got Ya!!!
Seriously… doesn’t he know that irritating his mother is bad for his health. My youngest is no better, he watches his elder brother with amusement and brings his own cheeky moments that irritate me and cause me to wonder if I could skip these years of parenting and go straight to when they have teenagers themselves. (sigh)
They are great young men… really they are. They also teach me that God is a wonderful parent and much better then me.
Yet this question came to me this week – If God is a great parent, an Awesome Father and a Just judge, why do His children go so wild?
Think about it.
God is everything that a Father should be, yet we are still rebellious and wayward.
I have often had people come up and gossip about another person with something like this – “you know such and so, their son/daughter is really wild. They think that they are so high and mighty!”
Wow… you don’t want to know what my thoughts are at that moment!! Apart from the fact that the person is gossiping, they have not considered this question – If God is the perfect Father, why do his children sometimes turn out so bad? Did it every occur to someone that it is actually about the child and not the parent?
Yes, sometimes it is our parenting and our fault that our children are like they are, remember that we are not perfect and we make mistakes and make bad decisions too. But this is also a fact – You cannot make someone good, only God can do that. You cannot override a person free will. If someone makes bad decisions there is very little you can do about it once a child hits a certain age, because it is their decision.
I suppose the next question someone should ask is this – Do you really consider that God is your Father? How then should you act?
My youngest one day said to me, “You are not a girl, mummy. You are a mummy”. (I think that he was about 5 years old at the time) I love the fact that my boys are still of the age where they are fully and firmly aware that I am mum. They best respect me too!!
It is not only that we say He is Father, but that we live it. My children need not only to call me mum, but to carry it out in their actions.
My children need to know that I cannot be their best friend. They need me as their mum. Yes, I can have a friendship with them. They know that I am their soft place to fall. They can confide in me and converse with me on any subject. But I am first and formost their mum.
God too needs us to recognise not only that He is God, but that He is Father. He cannot be our bestest friend. While there is an ability for Him to befriend us, He is ultimately God and Father.
I love the fact that my relationship with my children causes me to look at my relationship with my God. I love how God uses my relationship with my children to teach me.
God is a good Father. His love for us is complete. He waits for His children to not only acknowledge His fathership but also allow Him to be that parent.
Ask God about this. Think about this. Look at the scriptures. God has every good quality that is needed to Father us well.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
Psalm 145:8-9
Be blessed.