How God’s Character is Exhibited in Me
This seems like an impossible list of qualities to exhibit day in and day out. And yet it’s what our children need. And what God desires to work in us.
The beauty of these qualities is that they don’t depend on me. I don’t focus on them or on how to exhibit them. Instead, I focus on who God is. I think about how He interacts with me in these ways. I receive these gifts from Him.
And do you know what happens quite naturally along the way? My heart is changed. These qualities begin to characterize my life too. I am filled with them, and they can’t help but spill over and influence my child.
Contemplate God’s Character
Pause and consider how God interacts with you in these ways every day.
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God gives new mercy every. single. moment. He never grows weary of you.
Moment by moment God again extends His favor towards you, He again holds back what you deserve, He again has sorrow for the suffering in your life. No matter how much you provoke Him, He never grows weary of you. He never reaches His limit.
Lamentations 3:22-23 – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”
When you live in this place of receiving mercy, of understanding its depth, of allowing gratefulness and wonder to fill you as you consider God interacting with you in this way, you can then give mercy to your child.
Because God has tenderly interacted with you, you can put aside your agenda and desires and meet your child where he is. Even if he’s asking a question for the 100th time in the span of an hour!
2. God advocates in support of you. He doesn’t condemn you.
Isn’t this what grace is all about? Seeing who you are becoming and speaking to your true identity? What grace! What kindness!
This is what Jesus does on your behalf day in day out. Satan accuses you before the Father – pointing out your weakness, judging, criticizing and condemning. As we read in I John 2, Jesus speaks up on your behalf over and over again. He points out your true identity and asks for mercy on your behalf.
Jesus sees past your behavior to who you really are. He believes in you, supports you and fights for you.
