THE IMAGE OF GOD
Therefore be imitators of God as dear
children. Ephesians 5:1
Every
child's first image of God is his earthly father. The place we need to begin,
in our desire to protect and improve our Christian witness is our home. We need
to live our faith in front of co-workers and friends, but in the privacy of our
home, we also want our family to see Jesus in us. If we show love, forgiveness,
faithfulness, patience, and generosity, then our children will expect to find
those traits in the Lord.
In
a similar way, negative behaviours -- for example, consistent harshness,
indifference, or unfaithfulness -- also shape a child's view of God. I remember
a young man who came to me worried about his salvation. He had received Christ
as his personal Saviour but wasn't convinced that he was truly forgiven. When I
opened the Scriptures to share some assurances with him, he responded, “I
believe them, but I'm just not sure God's promises apply to me." He seemed
surprised when I then asked about his relationship with his father. During our
conversation, it came out that his dad had often made promises he failed to
keep. Now, years later, the young man was finding it difficult to believe that
God is loving and forgiving.
God
has placed a huge responsibility on us as parents to be worthy ambassadors of
Christ. Becoming an accurate reflection of the heavenly Father requires that we
submit to Him, walk in all His ways and seek to please Him in everything we do.
We must also approach parenthood as an area of service and ministry to the
Lord.
One
of the great legacies we can leave our children is to model true fatherhood and
as a result make it easier for them to relate with the Heavenly Father.
Prayer: Ask the Lord for grace to live a
consistent and godly live before all those who look up to you, especially your
children.
Scriptural Reading: Ephesians 5:1-14
