Being a parent has given me just a tiny glimpse of God’s fatherly love. The love I have for my own children and the sacrifices I have made for them are only a shadow of what God has done for me. The lengths that He went to in rescuing me, the sacrifice He made by giving up His only Son to die for me, and the steps He took to secure my eternal safety, are all evidences of His great and perfect love.

The Bible often uses the everyday experiences and common situations of life to teach us spiritual lessons. For example, God is compared to the agrarian image of a shepherd watching over his sheep. Scripture also uses the illustration of a husband who graciously seeks and redeems his wayward wife to describe how God has rescued and redeemed his people from sin. He is also compared to a father who disciplines, protects, guides, and provides for his children.

Since becoming a parent, this image of God as Father has taken on new and deeper meaning for me.

A Lesson From Parenthood

On vacation in California, I took my two boys to the famous San Diego Zoo. We first gathered around the map to get a lay of the land. Seeing that there was a polar bear exhibit, my kids asked to see that first. So we walked all the way to the back of the zoo to see the polar bears.

We stood before the glass enclosure, surrounded by a crowd of parents and excited children, to look at the bears in their manmade Arctic wonderland. I spotted one coming out of a cave and pointed it out to my youngest standing next to me. We watched him amble about, oblivious to the crowd of watching eyes. I turned to my oldest to see what he thought of the exhibit. After all, he had been so excited to see it. But he wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there!

Grabbing hold of my youngest son’s hand, we walked in and among the crowd, searching for my eight year old son. Panic began to rise up in my heart–I felt it in my stomach, my lungs, and my throat where my breath felt like it was stuck. My death grip hold on my youngest son’s hand tightened. I then sent him to search through a child’s play tunnel for his brother.

“Is he in there?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, Mom.”

We walked ahead, past the polar bear exhibit to see if my son had gone on ahead to see what was next. Only he wasn’t there either.

“Oh, God, what do I do?” I whispered aloud. My heart pounded in my ears. Tears welled up and thoughts of what could have happened swirled around my mind like a tornado, stirring up fear and panic in my heart.

After ten minutes of this living nightmare, my oldest spotted us in the crowd and came running. I could see the fear etched across his face. With tears in his eyes he said, “I’m sorry, Mom. I just walked away for a minute and then I couldn’t find you.”

My own face mirrored his as I quietly said, “I thought someone had stolen you.”

God’s Love and Grace

It had only taken a moment, a small distraction, for my son to wander away and get lost. Once my heart had returned to its normal tempo and the tears had dried, I thought about my love for my son and the panic I had felt when I thought I had lost him.

And yet how much it pales in comparison to the love my Father in heaven has for me! Being a parent has given me just a tiny glimpse of God’s fatherly love. The love I have for my own children and the sacrifices I have made for them are only a shadow of what God has done for me. The lengths that He went to in rescuing me, the sacrifice He made by giving up His only Son to die for me, and the steps He took to secure my eternal safety, are all evidences of His great and perfect love.

Parenthood has also given me a deeper appreciation of God’s grace. As I repeat myself over and over to my children, teaching them the same lessons time after time, I am reminded of how gracious God is toward me and my own sinful ways. Each time I fail in my parenting or struggle to discipline in grace, I am reminded that God’s discipline for me is always perfect and good. Like my children, I wander and rebel but God watches and waits, ready to extend grace and restore me back to himself.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)

After I finally found my son that day, part of me wanted to admonish him. I wanted to say, “Remember all the times I have talked to you about what can happen when you don’t stay with me? Remember what I told you about people who like to take children from their parents? Don’t you know better?” But then I remembered the grace and love of the Father who welcomed his son home with open arms in the parable of The Prodigal Son, hosting a great feast to celebrate the son’s return. So instead, I hugged my son tight, and prayed a prayer of thanks to the One who came to seek and save each and every one of his lost and wayward children.

Christina Fox, a graduate of Covenant College, is a member of Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Stuart, Fla. She blogs at To Show Them Jesus.