God is a Perfect Father, And I Am Not

When my wife and I got married, we knew we wanted kids pretty quickly. Ten months after our wedding I was holding our first son. I had all of the dad feels. I was ready to raise him up in the way he should go. I wanted to share the gospel with him, get to making disciples. Arrows in the hand of a mighty man, right!? I wanted to show him how to throw a ball, swing a bat, use a chainsaw, etc… And then I realized that he was a baby. All he could do was wiggle, cry, eat, and produce amazing quantities of bodily fluids. Momma was the champion, and I was the clown. I was good for a giggle every now and then, but really I was just in the way as far as he was concerned.

But the older he got, the more children we had, the more I started to be able to do those things that I really wanted to do. We were able to learn some skills together. He was able to sing some songs and memorize Bible verses. And then I realized that I’m not perfect. Ok, so I already knew that, but all my plans had been banking on some perfect version of myself that always had the right answers, always knew the right things to do, and never sinned against my wife or kids. Pretty quickly it was evident that I did not know the right answers. Should I discipline over this? Was I too harsh? Was I too soft? Am I being reasonable? Is this fair? Those were the thoughts running through my head regularly. And these don’t even account for all of the times that I knew I had messed up. One night I had disciplined my son for running behind our couch every time I asked him to sing with us in family time. The next day he asked my wife if he could have the tambourine behind the couch that he had been trying to get the night before. Talk about feeling like a big pile of trash. I just had to confess my sin to him and ask for his forgiveness.

So when I realize that I can approach God as, “Our Father in heaven,” I am humbled and completely blown away. God is a perfect Father. He never second guesses his approach. He always leads with clarity and kindness. He is wise and loving in His discipline, and it is always fair. He not only has good purposes for His children, but all things actually work out for good for those that love Him. He never sins and needs to ask for forgiveness. He is mindful of the weakness of His children, that they are dust, and He has a perfect love toward them. He sacrificed for them, He carries them daily, and He has perfectly provided an inheritance for them. He allows them to come to Him without ceasing, and He is never burdened by their cries. When I consider the perfections of God, and that He is my Father, my only response is to worship.

And I’m thankful that God, the true Father, watches over my children. “In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge” (Pro 14:26). God has given me these children to lead, and teach, and nourish, but my confidence is not in my skill, but rather in His faithfulness. If the future success or salvation of my children depended on my track record, then my kids are doomed. But if God is a refuge to the children of those who fear the Lord, and His faithfulness is to children and children’s children, then I have great hope.

I’m so thankful that God is a better Father than I am. By His grace I can continue to work to be more like Christ in my parenting. Be humbled with me at the perfection of God. Let your own insufficiency drive you to the only One who is entirely sufficient within Himself. Praise God that He is a perfect Father.