How to Love Your Kids Like Jesus

We are super excited to start a little mini-series this week called, Love Your Kids Like Jesus. We hope you’ll join us daily as we dig into what it means to love our children like the One who is himself, LOVE.

We don’t share these thoughts from a place of expertise or having achieved the seemingly impossible task of loving like Jesus. We share because we hope to encourage you by what God is showing us as we walk out our days of motherhood. It is by grace alone that we even scratch the surface of loving our kids like Jesus and it is because of His great love that we can get up every day and try again to love them better than the day before.

The idea of doing anything, most of all loving, like Jesus is daunting. We wonder how we can possibly move beyond ourselves – our selfishness and our busyness – and dig deep into our heart to access a love that is pure and effective for our children. Most of all a love that is like Jesus is faithful – it keeps coming back to the source, to the beginning – to be refueled and ready to keep going. And a love that is like Jesus carries the traits of his character. It is those traits I want to look at today.

How To Love Your Kids Like Jesus

with Compassion – “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” Mark 6:34 NIV

This image of Jesus as a shepherd is one of gentle compassion. I see him leading lost and distracted sheep as he leads us, his children. And I know that’s what he calls me to do as a mom. I get frustrated and angry at my children for being children. My husband often says, “What do you expect? They are kids?” And he’s right. A heart of compassion understands where her children are, meets them in that place and leads them forward by gently teaching many things.

by Grace – “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16 ESV

The idea of grace, of receiving something we do not deserve, is embodied in the person of Jesus. Jesus is God’s grace personified. And we must be that grace, in the flesh, for our children to see and to learn from. Most days I have a hard time accessing his grace for myself, let alone passing it on to my children. But the very nature of grace is to fill in the gaps. . .to help us in our time of need and in turn to allow us to graciously help our children. A heart of grace gently corrects her children with love as the driving force in order to help them understand the gift that is freely available to them, no matter their state.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NIV

in Pursuit – “This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 NIV

God, in such pursuit of us, sent his son to die in our place. And Jesus, in such pursuit of us, agreed to live faithfully, teach the truth as the Word made flesh, and die so we could find freedom. Jesus came to live among us so he could know humanity and so that we could know him. What a powerful picture of pursuit. I know in order to love my kids like Jesus, I must be in constant pursuit of their hearts. I must learn them and understand them so I can give them what they truly need. A heart of pursuit seeks to learn the unique children God has given her and pursues understanding of what they need and how they need it.

with Vigilance – “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

As my kids get older and I talk with parents of tweens and teens, one word keeps coming to my mind – vigilance. How overwhelming to think of all we have to be on top of as moms. Healthy, safety, online safety, education, spirituality. It’s. just. so. much! But we are called to a vigilant love and care for our children and I know that when he calls, he equips with grace upon grace. A heart of vigilance has eyes to see and ears to hear in every area of her children’s lives, always looking and listening for places to protect and places to promote.

through Awareness – “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 NIV

Awareness, as it pertains to our children, is one part pursuit and one part vigilance. Together, these character traits allow us to be aware – of our unique make up and tendencies – as well as those of our child. Awareness of our own self and our child will help us walk in unity. In essence this awareness is wisdom, and it is given freely to those who ask for it. A heart of awareness is full of wisdom and she understands who she is, who her children are what that means for day to day living.

with Truth – “My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John 3:18-24 MSG

Just wow. The sum of it all. When we live in truth and by truth, it benefits not only our children {in helping them walk in truth}, it allows us to walk in freedom of who we are in Christ. This is the only way we can love our kids like Jesus! Everything we need to love our kids like Jesus comes from the truth of who he is and what he did for us. It’s that simple. Now it may not seem simple in the daily grind of motherhood but if we can take a step back. . .get our heads out of our own world, it will all come into focus. A heart of truth knows who she is in Christ and thus leads her children in the truth of who they are because of his love.

Most days I fail miserably in these virtues. But his mercies are new every morning. The best part of the reality of his love is that we can get up tomorrow and try again. As long as we bend our ear toward the spirit and turn our heart toward Jesus, we’ll find each day we love better than the day before.

How can you love your kids like Jesus this week? In which of these areas do you need the most grace?