Parenting by Design - November 18

Who's Your Father?

1 Jn 3:1: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (NIV).

When I was in school, I remember walking through a hallway and hearing a father outside the principal's office. His voice was intense, but not angry. 

"Whose son are you?" the father said, as he looked his 10-year-old son in the eye. The boy meekly looked away. "Look at me," the father said, "and answer the question. Whose son are you?" With tears in his eyes, the boy looked at his Dad and said, "Yours" with a hint of shame. "No, my son, I want you to say it loud and proud," the father responded. "I'M YOURS!" The boy yelled, looking his father full in the face. Immediately, the father embraced him. 

I later learned the son had received harsh consequences for breaking a rule at school. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered the above verse. When we trust Jesus Christ as our savior, we become children of God. We can yell, "I'M YOURS" to our Heavenly Father.

Pass God's unconditional love to your children. Take time to thank Him for showing us eternal grace!