Children of God

6 min read

14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15 and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

— Psalm 48:9-10

It helps me to remember what it was like to be a child, especially as a father. In a similar way, God needs nothing from me, His child. And yet He is jealous for my love. And He demands that His children love one another.

Of course, I am not at all close to attaining the goodness of our heavenly Father, nor was my father. But what would I desire from my children in relation to me?

I would want them to know how much I love them. I would want them to express their thanksgiving, not because I desire any adoration, but because I would want them to live happy lives. And having a heart that naturally expresses thanksgiving fosters a happy life.

I would want them to speak and to act with integrity. I would want them to be men and women who keep their promises and to never feel the temptation to lie. And even if they felt that temptation, that they would speak the truth. I would want their yes to mean yes and their no to mean no. Having a heart of integrity fosters a happy life.

I would want them to trust me as their father. If they were ever in need, I would want them to never hesitate to call on me to ask for advice or material help. If they were in trouble for whatever reason, I would want them to think of me first—not because I want to control their lives. I want them to instinctively trust in my love and support because such deep trust fosters a happy life.

And I would want my children to honor me, not because I desire such honor, and definitely not because I deserve such honor. But if they have hearts that desire to honor their father, I know that they would have hearts to love and honor their children and their community and humanity as a whole. And living a life of honoring other people fosters a happy life.

But sin makes all of what I want for my children so complicated and corrupted. This mess began with my father and my father before him, all the way to our father Adam.

And so my consistent prayer for my children is that this cycle of sin, generation after generation, would be broken in them. But I see how it needs to start with me. I need to have a heart of thanksgiving to our heavenly Father. I need to live a life of integrity before our heavenly Father. I need to call on Him in faith in my days of trouble. And I need to honor Him with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind.

I trust my Father in heaven to break this curse of generational sin in me and in my children for the sake of their happiness. They are more His children than they are mine.

Father, You know my prayer. Be merciful to us. Show us Your love. Show us Your power. To You I turn, for You are our hope, and You alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.