Children and the Love of God

As I've gotten older I've realized that every season of life affords us a new opportunity to better understand the character of God. Through every season we are given a greater glimpse of who he is and what he has done for us in Christ. When I was single I sensed his goodness as my all sufficient provider of all of my needs. When I got married I saw the depth of his sacrifice for me as my husband served and cared for me. Now that I have children I have been blown away by how much he loves those who are his own. Perhaps that is why Jesus says this about the good gifts God gives his children:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11).

For me, having children has been the application of understanding the love of God. There is nothing my children can do that will make me not give them good things. There is no amount of sin that would cause me to stop loving them. The intensity of love that I feel for them has no end. As parents, we give gifts to our children on their birthdays and Christmas regardless of their behavior. We love endlessly. Their behavior doesn't change how we love them and care for them. And for them, that is such a comfort. Mommy and Daddy do everything for their good. Whether that be discipline, teaching, showering with kisses, or training them to sleep at night. Everything is for their good and because of our love for them.

Perhaps one of the reasons God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply was not just to perpetuate the race but to understand the intensity of his love. As I've grown into my role as a mom this first year I have also grown in my understanding of God's great love for me. And it floors me. Because of Christ's work on the cross, I am his child. Nothing can change that. Nothing can make him stop loving me. Nothing can make him stop working for my good. While it doesn't mean that I won't ever face trials or need correction and discipline, it does assure me that it is never in vain. God is always giving me good things because of his great love for me--even if it doesn't always feel good in the moment.

In every season I am learning more about the God who made me. And I think that is how God intended it. With every passing year he is revealing himself more to me, until that final day when my faith will be sight. Until then (and from that moment on), I will never exhaust the depth of his goodness and his character.