How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only son
To make a wretch a treasure
--Stuart Townend



Being a parent has given me an entirely new perspective on God. My dad has told me before that when you have children, for a while, you are God to that child. You are the ultimate authority, the giver and taker away of all things, and really, that's true. You also can come to a deeper and more amazed understanding of God's love for us, His children.



I've always heard that God loves us, but until I became a parent I never understood what a complex and sometimes painful that love is. I love my children unconditionally, and I want only the best things for them, and I want to give them only love and affection and happiness. But sometimes that love means that I have to discipline and punish them, and cause them momentary unhappiness in order to keep them on the straight and narrow path. I HATE having to punish my children, but sometimes they misbehave and I have to do it. I discipline them because I love them, and I want them to do the right things and behave in the right way, and because I want them to respect me and the authority I represent. They disobey and so I punish them, because I love them, but in truth the punishment is as painful for me as it is for them.



How much more painful it must be for our Heavenly Father to see us go astray! How heartbreaking it must be for Him to punish us, His beloved children. But He does, because He loves us wholly and without reserve. Even when we stand before Him, covered in evidence of our disobedience, He loves us and cherishes us as His precious sons and daughters. I count this understanding of Him as one of the unexpected blessings of motherhood.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom