How a Parent Loves a Child

Have you struggled with the concept of God’s love for you? How He loves you like a parent loves a child, cherishes and adores you? I did. I grew up being physically and verbally abused by my mother, and I don’t know how much my dad was aware of it because he worked a lot and I never told him.
It’s especially difficult to understand God’s love for you if you combine the above with not having children of your own, to have your feelings change your perception of the parent child relationship. It can make you have to reason out, as a true and good thing, that God loves you like a parent loves a child when your natural inclination might be to run for cover.
If you have trouble relating to what I just said, count your blessings. This post is for those who don’t know what it really feels like to love or be loved in a parent child relationship.
Even if you don’t have children, you can enjoy them. Just watching them can be a joy. Let me give you a glimpse of how God sees you, loves and wants to help you. I was reminded of this recently while watching a child of some friends, and their interactions with him.
This child, we’ll call him Jacob, is closing in on being two and a half years old. He is adorable and it is fun to watch as he plays and interacts with people. As I was watching him, I was reminded that this is how God sees us. He enjoys watching us, and is waiting to help when we ask, teaching us to do the right things, and guarding against our own ignorance. (Like when a child fascinated with a flame is warned HOT)
Jacob came up to me with his sippy cup and said, “juice?” of course I engaged him by asking if he wanted some juice, to encourage his growing ability to converse, and also got him the juice because he was thirsty. Can you relate?
I found as I watched him that afternoon I was eager to interact with him. If he wanted to play I was happy to play with him. If he wanted to talk I would ask him questions and answer his. If he was thirsty I would get him juice. If he had to go potty, well I got mom for that, lol. I was happy to have him sit on my lap, although it was short lived as everything is interesting to a child that age.
Throughout the afternoon I caught glimpse after glimpse of a child being loved by his parents, and was even drawn in myself to what it feels like to love a child. This is a great picture, that most anyone could relate to, of how God loves and cares for us.