Being a Mom Deepens Our Relationship With Jesus

Being a mom is AWESOME! Seriously, it’s one of the best aspects of my life. I have the privilege of caring for and loving on two sweet children and it is wonderful. It’s one of those things that you can’t really explain to people who don’t have children. Yes, you want to pull your hair out or hide in the bathroom with a chocolate bar sometimes. But the love you have for them and the way your heart melts when they learn something new or do something adorable is unexplainable. Children are amazing little humans that capture the essence of who God is and how he loves us. Which is the number one reason why being a mom is awesome: it connects us and deepens our relationship with Jesus.

1 John 3:1-3

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

You know that indescribable love you have for your child? God designed us to have that kind of love for our children because it’s how he loves us. The scale and depth of his love is astronomically bigger and deeper than what we feel, but the way you feel toward your child is a small reflection of how he loves you. Isn’t that amazing?

I didn’t get the depth of these verses until I became a mom. Now, I understand and appreciate more about my relationship with Jesus. When my children grow up, I want them to talk to me daily and let me into their lives so I can be a part of it. I want us to have a relationship that is deeper than just checking in to let me know they are still alive. I want to know them well and and for them to know me well. Jesus wants the same thing of his children, to have a daily, personal relationship with each one of us.

We might not like being called children by God. We like to think we have “grown up” and don’t act like babies anymore, but let’s get real. How many temper tantrums have you thrown because God didn’t answer your prayer the way you wanted him to? There may not have been kicking, screaming, pounding your fists against the wall (or maybe there was), but we’ve all given God the silent treatment. We’ve gotten grumpy with him because we’re tired of repeating the same prayers over and over. If he were physically with us every day, we would throw things at him, hit him, spit on him, yell at him, ignore him, break the rules, and do whatever we wanted despite his direction.

We’d do everything that our children do to us.

How do I know?

Because he WAS here with us physically and that is exactly what we did to him. Every day, we do things that nailed him to the cross and caused him to die an agonizing death. And he STILL lavishes his love on us because we are his children. Hallelujah!

Intentionally keep this lesson in your mind as you interact, discipline, and love on your child. It will change the way you parent and the relationship you have with your child. There is nothing more important we can do for our children than model our parenting on our relationship with Jesus.

This is part of a series called The “Being a Mom is Awesome (& Hard)” devotional. Click here to read more of the series. Messy Tired Love devotionals connect everyday mom moments to the truth of the gospel. Learn more here.