Is there one thing that is vital for parenting, one quality that all “good” parents have? God tells us that there is. “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you,” says the Lord in Isaiah 66:13. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love,” Jesus bids his disciples in John 15:9.
The Bible is the story of God’s great love for us, the love of God as mother and God as father.
The Bible also tells the story of our inevitable turning away from God. Does God grieve when we shrug off God’s will and wisdom? Absolutely – just as we tear out our hair over terrible report cards or speeding tickets our children bring home. Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) just as we weep over the child whom we visit in jail or at a rehab center. But sorrow is not the way God’s role as our parent ends. When we drag home in defeat, God welcomes us with wide-open arms, breathes the Holy Spirit into us and blesses us with peace.
This message is excerpted from “Being Mom – and Dad” by Sue Gamelin in the May 2017 Gather magazine. Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Today is the Women of the ELCA’s Rachel’s Day. Today is Cinco de Mayo.
Copyright © 2024 Women of the ELCA. Inquiries for permission to reproduce should be directed to [email protected].