Proper Perspective on God's Parenting

There is a paradigm difference between earthly parenting and God’s perspective on parenting. Ephesians 6:1 reminds us as children to obey your parents in the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. But as children of God, the context is much higher.

Unlike our earthly parents, God understands us in a way that a builder understands his creation. Our heavenly Father desires to connect with us in a very personal way even beyond what a natural mother or father might feel. Earthly parents, even well meaning ones, grow weary.

But God’s grace as a parent gives us encouragement regardless of our performance. He does not grow weary in well doing as a man might. His perspective is that of affirmation. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows the plans he has for you; plans to prosper you.

Hebrews 3:13 says encourage one another daily. This speaks of the community or family that God designed from the very beginning. God causes people to encourage us. But He himself encourages us through his Word. He sent the Holy Spirit to be a daily encouragement, or Comforter, to you.

As a matter of fact, God’s encouragement of his children is so extreme, his love for us so great, that he said in Matthew 19:13-14 that the kingdom of heaven belongs to us. This is the family paradigm God put in place before the foundation of the earth. He encourages us out of our constriction to a life of higher thinking and higher living.

God’s encouragement puffs us up so we can take flight. You can even encourage yourself knowing that as a child of God, God’s perspective of you as your parent is better than your yesterday.