This past weekend in our message series i follow, the theme was “i obey.” Pastor Mark gave us some great reminders of how our obedience to God should not be a “have to” kind of obedience but rather a “want to” kind of obedience. God is for us! God loves us and wants the best for us.

Isn’t that how we feel about our children as well? We love them and want the best for them. At our Baby Dedication Celebration on Sunday afternoon, we talked about the fact that the most important thing any child needs is love. And parents were reminded that they are best positioned to be the ones to give their child love. When love is the basis of your relationship with your child, then all other parts of your relationship will be viewed through that filter. Will you still have to discipline your child? Yes! Will you still have tough conversations? Yes! Will you still be the one who sets the guidelines and enforces them? Yes! But as your child matures, they will understand that all of these hard things are done because you love your child and want what’s best for them.

We can learn so much about parenting from our relationship with God!