loveandcommitmenttomychild?”If
parentaldecisionscanbemadewith
thisperspective,thepathasaspiritual
parentwillbemuchlesscomplicated.
Doesthissoundfamiliar?Ifwelook
atGod’sattributesintheirtotalityasa
guideforChristianparenting,wewill
seeaparentwhoispatient,loving,and
nurturing,whosetsappropriatelimits
andconsistentlyenforcesthem.Wewill
seeaparentwhoisforgivingandwho
usesknownandwell-defined
consequencesinagentle,loving,but
firmway.Wewillseeaparentwho
encouragestheinternalizationof
knowledge,values,andmorals,notone
whodemandsobedience.Wewillseea
parentwhoisavailabletothechild,
whoisinvolvedinawarm,close
relationshipbasedontrust.Wewillsee
aparentwhoseparentingstylemost
closelyresemblestheauthoritative
parentingstyle.
Isn’titamazingthestylemost
recommendedbysocialscientistsmost
resemblesGod’smodelforparenting?
Isn’titamazingwhathastakenyearsof
researchtodetermine(theparenting
stylewiththebestchildoutcomes)was
thereinblackandwhitethewhole
time!
ThisistherelationshipGoddesires
tohavewithHischildren.Shouldn’tit
alsobetherelationshipparentswantto
havewiththeirchildren?
Marriage and Family Life: The ParentingYearsSIDEBAR7.6
The Attributes of GodTheLORDiscompassionateandmerciful,slowtoget
angry and filled with unfailing love (Psalm 103:8).
TheLORDiscompassionateandmerciful,slowtoget
angry and filled with unfailing love (Psalm 145:8).
God Is Forgiving
I—yes,I alone—will blot out your sins for my own
sake and will never think of them again (Isaiah 43:25).
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and
just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all wickedness
(1 John 1:9).
You were dead because of your sins and because
yoursinfulnaturewasnotyetcutaway.ThenGodmade
you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He
canceledtherecordof thechargesagainstusandtookit
by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13–14).
Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven,
whosesinisputoutofsight!(Psalm32:1).
You forgave the guilt of your people—yes, you
covered all their sins (Psalm 85:2).
God Is Personal
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the
manandhiswifeheardtheLORDGodwalkingaboutin
the garden.So they hid from the LORDGod among the
trees (Genesis 3:8).
InsidetheTentof Meeting,theLORDwouldspeakto
Moses face to face,as one speaks to a friend.Afterward
Moses would return to the camp, but the young man
who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain
behind in the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:11).
And so it happened just as the Scriptures say:
“Abraham believed God, and God counted him as
righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the
friend of God (James 2:23).
You are my friends if you do what I command.I no
longer call you slaves,because a master doesn’t confide
in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told
you everything the Father told me (John 15:14–15).
Source:All Scripture references are fromThe Holy Bible,
New Living Translation.Wheaton,IL: Tyndale,2004.