The Ultimate Parent

The Ultimate Parent
By Lori Ennis

“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24-29)

I recently had a conversation with my son and two of his friends that was revealing and served as a reminder for me. They, like typical kids, wanted to know, “Why do parents not have to explain anything, but kids always do?”

I remember feeling the same way, thinking, “I’ll NEVER tell my child, ‘Because I said so,’ and I’ll ALWAYS give them a good reason for EVERYthing!”

Ha. How naive we are before we become parents ourselves!
But still, I found their question valid and reminded them that we are made in God’s image. If you’re a parent, you understand wholly and completely the concept of your children simply needing to listen and obey because it’s for their best. 
Just like you love and adore your children, God loves and adores us.
But just like our children are simply incapable of understanding ALL our thoughts and ways and motives, so are we with OUR Heavenly Father. 
Sometimes, we just are incapable of understanding, “Why?” and to even ask is futility and frustration because the answer will never suffice on this earth.
Often, we look at God only as our omnipotent and omniscient Almighty Creator. We recognize His grandeur as we marvel in the tiniest detail of a sunset or the patterns on a ladybug’s back.

But we fail to remember He is our Father…He tenderly loves us with an abiding and encompassing parental love, and He wants to lavish us abundantly with that love.
Like our own children, we instead pay attention to circumstances that would have us question Him and His intent, and we forget that we’re just mere mortals, incapable of knowing the mind of God fully.
It’s human to wonder. It’s human to want reason and to make sense of things, and it’s human to bring those questions and curiosities to our Heavenly Father. Jesus purposely showed Thomas His wounds, knowing full well Thomas would need that answer and reassurance.

But when the answers don’t come…and the reassurance seems fragile at best, we can still rest in knowing He is our Heavenly Father who has plans for our peace and our future and our ultimate eternal life with Him. He delights in us as His own, and He’ll never leave or forsake us.