At our best when imitating Him

I am convinced that I am at my best as a human when I imitate God. Being made in his image and bearing that image to the world is my sole duty and this has implications for my role as a father:

  • God sets his love upon his children. I need to continually choose to do that. For me it is a daily choice, but for my unchanging (immutable) God it was a one-time choice that he made and continues in to this day.
  • God withholds no good thing from me. I don't often trust him enough to believe this, but it is clear that it is true (Psalm 84:11; Matthew 7:9-11). I need to continually eschew the "decent" things that I gravitate towards and give my children "good" things that they need.
  •  God is both just and merciful. I can be lazy and let things side that shouldn't or be too harsh and punish or discipline out of anger after being inconvenienced. God holds these in perfect tension and the balancing act is a tough one for me as a dad.
  • God is accessible. I love the verses in Hebrews 1:1-2 (and their echo in John 1:18) and they are a challenge for me to not retreat into my bubble in Whateverville and engage my children. At the very least I need to make sure that I can be engaged by them.

All of that to say that I have the best Father and even an earthly father that reflects him. I need to make sure that my reflection is an accurate picture of God's fathering of me.

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