WHAT A LOVING DAD DOES! – VOL III ISSUE 2

Psalm 103:13

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. ESV

An earthly father expresses love for his children; it is no different with our heavenly Father. The Voice

Here God is using a father’s love and compassion as a metaphor for showing us how he loves us.  That’s called anthropomorphism. It comes from two Greek words:  anthropos (man) and morphe (shape).  Therefore, an anthropomorphism concerning God is when He appears to us or manifests Himself to us in human form or even attributes to Himself human characteristics.  We see this all over the Bible -- and rightly so.  After all, we cannot ascend to where God is, but He can descend to where we are.

So, how do you love your children? Although God uses the way we love our children as a metaphor for His love, our love is very imperfect as compared to the way He loves. So although God says he shows compassion to us like a father shows compassion to his children, He turns right around and tells us to love our children like He loves us. I  Corinthians 13:3-8 gives a very detailed description of His type of love.

“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love (agapè). Love:

·       Never gives up.

·       Cares more for others than for self.

·       Doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

·       Doesn’t strut,

·       Doesn’t have a swelled head,

·       Doesn’t force itself on others,

·       Doesn’t always “me first,”

·       Doesn’t fly off the handle,

·       Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

·       Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

·       Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

·       Puts up with anything,

·       Trusts God always,

·       Always looks for the best,

·       Never looks back,

·       But keeps going to the end.

·       Never dies.”                  The Message

Carefully look over this list. Is this the way you love your kids? As for me, I know I fall far short of His standard. There were countless times while my children were growing up that I missed the mark. But that’s where asking forgiveness comes in. Dad, can you humble yourself and ask your children’s forgiveness when you’ve not loved according to His standard? This is a tall order and crucial if you want to keep an open door to their heart.

Is your love expressed at different times in different ways? All your children are different and they obviously need different things at different times. And boys and girls need love expressed differently. Whatever you do, dad, avoid the pitfall of choosing a favorite, it will NEVER end well.

Do you show them love the same way at every age? No, they have very different needs at every age and stage of life. Apply I Corinthians’ concepts appropriate to each age.

Sometimes love gives what a person needs and not just what they want. Check out a previous installment of What a Dad Does on loving through discipline.

Unfortunately, dad, as our verse indicates our children form an image of God based on the way we love. Let’s humbly ask the Father to love our children through us.

This is what a loving dad does!