For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:26
Marriage isn’t the only picture God gives us to understand His love. In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus says “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
The Bible often refers to God as the Father and the church His children. So Satan sets out to destroy relationships with parents and their children. If a young man whose father abandoned the family hears God referred to as the Father, it’s natural for him to struggle to understand how much God loves him because he doesn’t have a point of reference. If an earthly father didn’t love him, how could a Heavenly Father?
But fathers aren’t the only ones responsible for providing a picture for their children. Mothers also play an important role. Even if the men in our lives our absent, we can teach our children the love of their Heavenly Father and live out our faith as an example. But sometimes we do all we can do, and our children still turn away from God.
I’m sure you know the story of Cain and Abel detailed in Genesis 4. Adam and Eve not only lost a child to death but also one to sin. Cain became the first wayward child, and he has not been the last.
Even though Satan is not mentioned in this story, we can see his effect. He found a crack, Cain’s jealousy, and used it to tear apart this family. Satan is constantly seeking a foothold, and we have to work hard not to give him one. If anyone harbors bitterness, jealousy, or resentment, it can cause irreparable damage to the family. Any sin can cause damage to a family, and Satan will grab whatever he can find, exploiting our weaknesses.
But it’s important to note that in Genesis 4:25, Adam and Eve have another son, Seth. According to the genealogy in Luke 3:23-38, Seth becomes the ancestor of Joseph, Mary’s husband. God can, as Romans 8:28 says, use anything for good. In this case, God used Seth’s seed to provide a descendant who would serve as Jesus’s earthly father. Even Jesus, while He was on Earth, had an earthly father and a Heavenly Father.
And just as God showed mercy on Cain, so must we show mercy to our family. When our children go astray, when our husbands hurt us, when our parents neglect us, and when our siblings take advantage of us, we must model Christ’s unconditional love. We must offer forgiveness and keep bitterness from taking root, keep Satan from using that as a way to get between us and our family. We are not only representatives of Christ, we are often our family’s first impression of Him.
Let’s turn our children over to Christ, just as Hannah did Samuel (1 Samuel 1). Let’s trust the Lord and pray that His will be done, even when our children make decisions we don’t agree with, don’t approve of. For this is an inkling of what our Father goes through when we turn our backs on Him. He knows what we’re going through. So let’s focus on what we can do. Pray that we’re role models for the children in our lives. Show them the unconditional love of Christ. Provide a basis for them to understand Christ’s love. Work on our relationships with Christ so that through us, our children will see the love of God.
And let’s remember that no matter what, God loves us and is a faithful Father.
For more on how marriage and family helps us understand our relationship with God, check out my posts Marriage: A Picture of Christ and the Church and Lessons from Adam and Eve: Marriage Roles.
