Saturday, October 27, 2007

As Dear Children...



"Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1

As a mother, the Lord is faithful
in teaching me much through my children.
During my quiet time with Him one day,
I read this verse:
"Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1

Those words stood out to me so much.
As I sat and meditated on this Scripture,
the Lord opened my eyes...
and He used my children to teach me.

He didn't want me to just read that verse
and then move on to the next, unaffected.
He had something to show me.

He led me to observe my children...
Oh, how they love their daddy!
He showed me more, as He guided me to recall
instances of their childhood, past and present.

They truly did/do love their daddy.
"Mommy, where is Daddy?
When will he be home?"
"I miss Daddy."
"I want Daddy."

Throughout the day,
whether Daddy was at work, outside,
running an errand, deployed overseas...
wherever he was/is, these questions are present.

The Lord helped me to look deeper
into these statements,
to see a glimpse of their hearts...
... they love their daddy, are seeking him,
expecting him, trusting him to return,
desiring him, incomplete without him,
are comforted by him,
they anticipate his arrival,
they watch out the window for him
and are, oh, so excited when he arrives!

They run to greet him, to embrace him,
to tell him they've missed him,
and tell him all about their day...
Desiring, more than anything, his fellowship,
special time with him, his love and affection.
They look up to him, admire him,
respect and reverence him, desire to please him,
and they want to be like him when they grow up.

His Word, there before me...
"Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1

"...as dear children."...
What a parrallel to examine my heart with...

Do I love, really love, my Heavenly Father?
Am I seeking Him? Excpecting Him?
Trusting Him to return?
Do I desire Him? Am comforted by Him?
See that I'm incomplete without Him?
Do I anticipate His arrival? Watching for Him?


Do I run to my Heavenly Father with excitement?
Am I eager to fellowship
and spend special time with Him?
Do I yearn for Him all the day long?
Do I adore, respect, reverence Him?
Do I, with all my heart, want to be like Him?

"Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1

There was more He showed me...
I recalled and witnessed how,
when their daddy tells or reads a story,
they listen intently and whole heartedly
with wide eyes and devoted ears.

"... as dear children."...

How do I listen to my Heavenly Father?
Am I easily distracted from His Word
as He is trying to speak to me?
Or do I listen intently and whole heartedly
with wide eyes, wanting to see,
devoted ears, aching to hear,
and a heart of deep reverence,
willing to please and obey?


"Be ye therefore followers of God
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1

There was more...
I recalled how the children
listen to, remember, and repeat
what their daddy says.
"My daddy said, 'this' and 'this'. "

Do I so boldly share what
my Heavenly Father says?

And, oh, how eager and excited they are
to talk about their daddy!
They use every opportunity
(and sometime make the opportunity)
to tell others all about their daddy!


"... as dear children."...

Am I so eager and excited
to talk about my Heavenly Father
and share Him with others?
Do I take advantage of every opportunity
or go out of my way to make one?


"Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children."
~ Ephesians 5:1



Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of children.
Thank you for using them to teach me
in such simplicity.
Thank you that I am Your child.
May I always have a teachable spirit.
May I never be unaffected and unchanged
by Your Word.
May I be a doer of Your Word
and not a hearer only.
May I follow You, Heavenly Father,
as dear children.




20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Christina!! That has touched my heart dearly. As I sit and read this, I had to wipe a tear (really, I did). It's amazing how God's word can be compared to the way we live. To teach us and explain what we should do. Even break it down Barney style to where everyone from a young child to an older child (adult) can read, understand and apply His word.
Thank you for this blog. It is a great reminder that we are children as well.

I LOVE and MISS you ALL dearly.

Love,
Hubby

Aiming Our Arrows said...

Thank you so much for sharing what the Lord has shown you through His Word. It has blessed my heart.
2Tim 2:1-2
~Jill

Susan said...

This was excellent, Christina! Thank you!

Pam--in America said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this! What a wonderful lesson! I'm sure I will be looking at my children's relationship with their Daddy in a different way..... and seeing how I can improve my own relationship with my Father. What a blessing!

~Bren~ said...

What an awesome revelation. Thank you for sharing it.

debhmom3 said...

I have learned so many things about my Heavenly Father through my children, but such a simple fact as this escaped me. Thank you for such a wonderful post. I hope that we all can strive to have the "Daddy's home" excitement with our Father every day. Though I certainly fall short so much of the time, it will be my goal.

Tracy said...

What a wonderful and thought provoking post, Christina!

and I'm so glad that your hubby gets to read your blog and is encouraged by it. I'm sure that it is a blessing to him to be able to see his bride and his brood daily!

Anonymous said...

Excellent post Christina - just wonderful! What an awesome parallel you used here. I'm so glad I read it!!!

Thanks for sharing with us!
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/SALT
http://thetagblog.blogspot.com/

Grafted Branch said...

This spoke to my heart tonight. Convicting and soothing at the same time. Thank you for posting it.

Mrs. Taft said...

Beautiful and challenging! I loved your insights.

Thanks, also, for stopping by :)

Jennifer said...

Wow...another very beautiful and convicting post. So very, very true. Thank you for sharing.

And thanks for your comment on my link to your post. I really appreciate that post and your blog...thank you for being used to minister through it!!

Anonymous said...

Your so very encouraging,it's been awhile,seeing through my childrens's eyes,as you all have grown up.But with your insight I hope to see my heavenly Father as a child.ThankYou for being a blessing to us all.
Love Mom

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful thoughts Christina. This really was a blessing for me tonight. Then the tears came as I read your hubby's comment. When do you think you will next get to see him? I pray for y'all each and every time I think of your sweet family.
{{{HUGS}}}

Kristi said...

Christina, what a wonderful post and so humbling. We're in prayer revival this week and the message last night was on what happens to the prayer life when we leave our first love. Our Heavenly Father desires us to be in love with Him. To look for Him. To wait on Him.

Great post!

~Kristi

Lindsey said...

Thanks for sharing this!

Ro 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, (daddy) Father.

Thanks for the challenge and encouragement!

Thanks, too, for stopping by my blog!

(I'm a die hard Coke fan, too! GO COKE!) :-)

Anonymous said...

Hello dear friend. I loved this post. Great words of wisdom.

Thank you for the math book. We plan to dig into it tommorrow. Today was spent practicing for a drivers test. She passed. Yikes!!

The dvd we have not watched yet. I am looking forward to viewing it.

I thank the Lord for his provisions through friends!

Love the Lord, Lisa

TO BECOME said...

This touched me very deeply. I loved it. It was a great post that has taught a great lesson. May I take it into my heart and remember it daily. Thank you, connie from Texas

Unknown said...

Wow! I just now took the time to read this post. Thank you for taking the time to write all this. It was very encouraging and convicting. Wow.

Madeleine said...

WOW!!

I am speechless, in thought and thankfulness!!

Thank you.

Amy ~ (Life's Small Treasures) said...

Thank you for such a convicting and honest post. There are so many lessons from the Bible we can learn by watching our children.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us

~Amy

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