Photo by OC Gonzalez on Unsplash
Grandparents
I can spot grandparents right away. It’s not the age differential but their interaction with children. Grandparents, especially boomers, tend to look younger than earlier generations and some become grandparents in their forties.
When I see three generations of a family together, it’s easy to see who the parents are. Aside from their appearance, parents and grandparents interact with the children in very different ways.
Parents wear the day-to-day responsibility on their faces and have the countenance of marathon runners mid-way in a race. Grandparents now enjoy the race as spectators. But, they are experienced spectators.
Imagine God the Father as a grandparent. In a sense, He is. His Son Jesus has many children who trust in the Father through Him. Perhaps Jesus is more like an elder brother but you get the idea (Hebrews 2:10 GW).
Relating to God as Father
As a pastor, I’ve known many people who find it hard to relate to God as a father, because of their relationship with their own earthly father. But God has lots of experience as a father — for hundreds of generations.
He’s the Almighty Father — full of compassion with mercy that endures forever (Ps 136).
I’m a father of four and a grandfather of seven (so far!). Although I liked playing with my children a lot when they were young, playing with grandkids is now a special role for me. I love it, just as so many other grandfathers do!
Photo by Mary Blackwey on Unsplash
Imagine God the Father as a grandparent
I’m sure you’ve seen grandparents fawn over their grandchildren, acting as if they’re the only children on the face of the earth. It’s because the affection and compassion that fills our hearts outweigh our responsibility for them.
I’ve seen fathers who were strict authoritarians melt into sugary cupcakes as grandpas. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is something extraordinary and beyond description.
God’s love knows no boundaries
As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13 GW)
This text uses the word compassion but it could also be translated as mercy. This is the heart of God (Luke 6:36) whose mercies are new every morning(Lam 3:21–23).
Even though God’s mercy is an overflowing reservoir of compassion, it is reserved most for those who recognize Him for who He is — God Almighty.
The fear of God is not a cowering, anxious dread but a respectful sense of awe and wonder. He is awesome in the truest sense of the word. Fearing God is a secure relationship of trust—a trust in He who is all-powerful.
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