167God first picked the nation Israel to be his children. After
centuries of resistance by Israel, however, God chose the
church: “Because of [Israel’s] transgression, salvation has come
to the Gentiles to make Israel envious” (Rom. 11:11). The body
of Christ has the same role as Israel had—to multiply God’s love
and character.
The church is often described as a family. We are to do good
“especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal.
6:10). Believers “are members of God’s household” (Eph. 2:19).
We are to “know how people ought to conduct themselves in
God’s household” (1 Tim. 3:15).
These and many other powerful passages show us how God
“thinks family.” He explains his heart as a parent would. He’s a
daddy. He likes his job. This biblical portrayal of God helps
show us how parenting is such a vital part of bringing God’s own
character to this planet in our own little ones.
Boundaries and Responsibility
God, the good parent, wants to help us, his children, grow
up. He wants to see us “become mature, attaining to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Part of this
maturing process is helping us know how to take responsibility
for our lives.
It’s the same with our own flesh-and-blood kids. Second only
to learning how to bond, to form strong attachments, the most
important thing parents can give children is a sense of responsi-
bility—knowing what they are responsible for and knowing what
they aren’t responsible for, knowing how to say no and knowing
how to accept no. Responsibility is a gift of enormous value.
We’ve all been around middle-aged people who have the
boundaries of an eighteen-month-old. They have tantrums or
sulk when others set limits on them, or they simply fold and
comply with others just to keep the peace. Remember that these
adult people started off as little people. They learned long, long
ago to either fear or hate boundaries. The relearning process for
adults is laborious.
Boundaries and Your Children