Know You Are Loved

Until it actually happened to me I would not have believed it was possible. But the moment I saw her, I experienced an overwhelming love.

This tiny baby, who to others must have looked like any other baby, was my daughter. The moment a parent first sees their own child is unforgettable. The love a parent feels for a child is almost indescribable. Yet this is the analogy God uses of his love for you. You are a child of God. The love he has for you is even greater than that which parents feel for their own children.

Knowing who you are will have a big impact on your life. Know that you are a deeply loved child of God. This should be the basis of your confidence, security, and hope.

Wise children - Proverbs 17:25-18:6

The Bible has a lot to say about human parenting and the relationship between parents and their children. The love parents have for their children is instinctive and powerful. Good parents want the very best for their children. Children have a high capacity to bring great joy to their parents. But, of course, they can also bring grief.

‘Foolish children bring grief to their fathers and bitterness to those who bore them’ (17:25). The writer goes on to expand on the difference between the foolish and the wise in different aspects of life.

For example, ‘fools… delight in airing their own opinions’ (18:2), whereas the wise use words with restraint. In fact, ‘Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues’ (17:28). As American historian Will Durant (1885–1981) once said, ‘One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.’

The writer then touches on other characteristics of the wise: friendliness (18:1), listening (v.2), and justice (v.5).