No Reluctant Father
Valentine’s Day is over, but we’re still talking about love here on RWP. Specifically, we’re getting more specific about God’s joyful fatherly love for His kids.
Is your child convinced—are you—that God’s love for him or her is eager, joyful, tender, and complete? God is no reluctant Father. He doesn’t take us on as a burden or an obligation or a government program.
We’ll be looking for chances this week to talk with our kids about how God wanted us—as well as what He wants for us. To begin to understand God’s enthusiastic love for us provides a child with a security and stability for all of life.
We’re more comfortable, of course, talking about what God wants from us, what He requires of His children. But before that should come a foundational understanding of what He wants for His children, what He longed to give to us.
And you alone, as your child’s parent, may be most qualified to communicate this idea of God as a loving Father excited to give the best imaginable of everything to His kids. Your explanation of your own love for your child might be the closest example—though far inferior—to describing the perfect, grace-filled and endless love of God.
We’re pulling our talking points for the week from Ephesians 1:3-14, and we hope a few of the questions below will help you to spark a good conversation about God’s love with your kids.
Talking Points
- Do you ever think about how God feels about you? If so, what do you think He feels?
- How do you think God’s love for you is similar to—and different from—that of your parent(s)? [Parent: Be prepared to talk about how you love your children, how you felt when they were born or adopted, how you feel about them even when they aren’t doing what you wish they would.]
- In Ephesians 1:3, Paul describes God as an adoptive Father who has given His kids every spiritual blessing in Christ. In your own words, how would you say that a person becomes an adopted child of God? What does it mean to be “in Christ”? [Parent: Emphasize and reinforce what it means to be saved by grace through faith in Christ.]
- What are some of the spiritual blessings you have been given as a believer in Jesus, as one of God’s kids? What’s the difference between a spiritual blessing and a physical one?
- Ephesians 1:4 says that God planned out way before we were born—before the world was made—to give us the gifts of being “holy and blameless in his sight.” Why is that a good gift? [Parent: That means that God made a plan to remove anything that could have come between us and Him (like our sin).]
- Why do you think God would make a plan to sacrifice His Son so our sins could be forgiven and we could be with Him? [Parent: Main point: Because He loves us.]
- Ephesians 1 also says that God made a plan to adopt us because He loved us, because He wanted to do it, and because it made Him happy. Do you usually think of God wanting you as His child in that way? Why or why not?
- What are some relationships you have tried to make work just because you liked or loved that person so much and being with them made you happy?
- Does it make you think better or worse of God to know that He was so eager and enthusiastic to have you in His family?
- Do you think God ever regrets bringing anyone into His family? [Parent: Emphasize that God is continuing to complete His plan to bring us home to be with Him forever, because He doesn’t change His mind—especially about being delighted in His kids.]
- How do you imagine it feels to become a parent?
- What are some of the gifts that people give to those they love?
- What is a gift that God gives to His kids here on earth while we’re looking forward to being with Him in eternity? [Parent: Emphasize that one gift He gives us is His Holy Spirit as a “seal,” a promise that the Father will keep all of His promises to us forever.]
- Why do you think God loves you with so much energy and emotion?
- How does knowing this about God change how you feel about Him?
Back.
