Mom Heart Moments #234

I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

GOD IS SUCH A WONDERFUL PROVIDER FOR US. Take a moment to look at nature and all the flowers and color and creatures that He crafted for our pleasure. When sin separated us from Him, He came among us, giving up the comfort, glory, and honor He held in heaven to serve, feed, live with, and encourage His own precious disciples.

Our life with God is not just made up of a list of rules He has given us. He comes as the servant King, the One who lays down His life, the One who is humble and meek. As a good parent, God gives us wisdom and guidance so that our lives will be healthy, strong, and protected.

This becomes our pattern for parenting. He served and loved and sacrificed and gave of Himself so that we would long to be holy out of our gratitude and reverence and love for Him. He called His disciples to serve, to love, and to be holy. He gave them true life and beauty that filled their deepest needs, as well as fulfilling their longings to live a purposeful life.

Getting the rules right or defining all of the rules and theology correctly will not make our children want to serve God. It is laying down our lives for them —serving them, listening to them, loving who God made them to be, that will secure in them a desire to love God with all of their hearts. By experiencing our love for them, they will more easily understand and receive God’s love, as it will already be familiar to their hearts and minds.

Do you realize how precious you are, that Jesus would lay down His life for you? Let it soak in today. You are dearly loved.