Beloved Child of God

I had to do an exercise at a church retreat that included answering the question, “Who are you?” In that context, the answer came, “I am a beloved child of God.” It is such a blessing to be grounded in “the knowledge and love of God” and to know in my heart both that I am a child of God and that God loves me.

I was raised in a church that emphasized that “God is Love.” In Sunday School, we focused on the first creation story in Genesis, where God makes man and woman in His own image. The chapter ends: “God saw all that he had made, and it was good.” We were taught that that included us, and I believe that.

Being a parent has helped me understand unconditional love. Until I had children that tested my patience and kept me up at night with worry, I don’t think I fully understood how God could love us no matter what we do. But I know that I will love my children no matter what mistakes they make.

As a parent, I set rules to keep my children from harm, and when they break them I care more about the danger they are putting themselves in than about the fact that they have broken a rule. This has given me a new perspective on sin. God wants us to live a certain way so that we can fully experience His love and His blessings and share that with others. When we fall short, usually the person we hurt the most is ourselves. When we realize we’ve gone astray, God welcomes our repentance and reconciliation, just as I welcome my children’s sincere apologies and earnest commitment to making a better choice next time.

That’s not to say that sin doesn’t bring consequences. I am not a permissive parent, and my husband and I do impose punishments that we try to fit to the “crime” to teach important lessons. But our punishments really are motivated by love and we try hard to convey that to our children as well. Really, it would be easier not to discipline our children, but we do because we love them so much. I think as they get older (they are teenagers now), they understand this, and trust us more when we tell them that we have their best interests in mind and want them to be happy.

I know that living by God’s “rules” would bring more peace and happiness to my life. I try to “love my neighbor as myself,” and follow the principles of the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. But I know I fall far short. Instead of being wracked by guilt for my shortcomings, though, I know that God loves me and my imperfect self. To paraphrase the prayer of Thomas Merten, I believe that trying to please God itself is pleasing to God, just like I appreciate any gift or act of kindness from my children.

God is love and God loves us all as His beloved children.