Published by Everyone wants to be a perfect parent. This day and time we are swamped with tons of books and magazines telling us just how to be the perfect mom and dad. There are classes we can take and counseling sessions we can go to. If a parent even has the time to read the material and go to these classes, each one says something different. Why is this? Could it be because no one really knows what the perfect parent is supposed to be?
Well, I have the answer for you. It was long ago written in a book for us to read. A book that shows us again and again by example what we are supposed to be as parents. This book is in many of our homes, yet it’s the last place we look to find out the answers we seek. The book I am referring to is the Bible. Yes, that book that no one ever thinks to look for parenting advice has the perfect parent right in it. His name is God, our Father.
God loves us unconditionally. Today many parents don’t love their children. A little arguement over something that really doesn’t even matter and some parents are ready to just write their kids off. They don’t have the patience for the trouble their teens are ”causing”. We have trouble forgiving our children for things they do or say to us, yet our Heavenly Father forgives us over and over again for the things we have done. There are things in everyone’s life that would be hard for anyone to forgive, but our Father forgives us if we ask. So why shouldn’t we forgive our children for the things they have done and love them unconditionallly?
These days, a lot of parents feel like their children are a curse rather than a blessing. Parents are so busy trying to get the things they want or they think thier kids need that they don’t even take the time to get to know their children. Most families don’t even take the time to sit down and have a family meal where they can sit around the table and talk about their day. Children are either in front of the tv eating or out with friends (who knows what they are talking about with thier friends!). Some children are even left alone to eat meals by themselves. We all know that it is hard on single parents who are trying to make ends meet and take care of thier children. We forget though that the child is a blessing and start seeing them as a burden. Children can feel this and it hurts them deeply. Has that parent taught them about God? Do they know that there is someone who will be there for them day or night? Does that child know that he or she can talk to Him and He will listen–without judging–and will be there to help?
So you see, God is the perfect parent. It’s right there in the Bible for us to read. It lists many different ways that God helps us and how he parents us. They are all listed in black and white (sometimes red and white). He will be there for us when we don’t know what to do for that toddler who just won’t stop or that teen who is driving us nuts. He’s even there for us when our kids are grown and making mistakes we can no longer do anything about. No matter what the problem or how old our children, God is there for us. He is patient with us and He loves us.
The perfect example is right there in the Bible for us to follow, yet we will pay hundreds of dollars to listen to someone who might not have ever even picked a Bible up before. We put our faith in someone who will sit there and listen to us tell them our problems. Yes, that person will listen and give you advice, sometimes even good advice, but you can believe they are sitting there listening to the clock tick because they are getting paid good for that session. We forget that God will be there for us day or night and it doesn’t cost a thing. We need to start getting our priorities straight and do what is right. If we want to be a perfect parent, then we need to start following the perfect one–God.
