And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
— Ephesians 4:32
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
— Jeremiah 31:20
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
— Hosea 1:10
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
— John 1:12
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
— Colossians 3:12
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
— 1 John 3:1-2
Honoring Our Heavenly Father, by Jonathan Edwards. The following contains an excerpt from his work, “Childlike Respect to God.”
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.—Ephesians 5:1
This exhortation is amplified by the manner how and reason why they ought to be followers of God in these words: “as dear children.” (1) These words contain a direction (concerning) how to follow: as dear children follow their parents from their dependence upon them, their love to them, and in obedience to their calls. They should be conformed in their natures unto God as children are to their parents, being in their parents’ likeness and image, as Adam begat a son in his own likeness, and the Son of God is the express image of His Father (Heb 1:3). And they should be conformed to God in will, as children are to the will of their parents when there is an entire mutual love and affection, as there ought to be, between them and their parents. They should be conformed to Him in action, as children naturally learn the manners of their parents. (2) The words are an enforcement of the exhortation. They contain a reason why they ought to follow God: because they are dear children. They should follow God as it becomes dear children. As much as to say, “You are called to be the children of God; you are taken into that blessed relation of children to the Most High. Therefore, be conformed to your heavenly Father.”
How we may follow God as dear children.
First, a high and honorable esteem of God. Honor is mentioned in the Fifth Commandment as what comprises the whole of the respect that is due from a child to parents. An honorable esteem is the foundation of all the rest. As the parent naturally has complacence in his child and overlooks his faults and blemishes, so the dutiful child is naturally inclined to think highly of its parent, to prefer him in his thoughts before others. And it will especially do so, if the parent behaves himself towards the child—in instructing, guiding, defending, caring for, and governing of it—as becomes a parent.
So, the soul that has a childlike respect to God has a high and exalting thought of Him. As God (is) wise, holy, and gracious, and infinitely so, he is not blind to His excellencies and honorable perfections. He has a deep sense of God’s greatness and glory and prefers Him in his esteem to all other beings. “Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges” (Deu 32:31). He understands God’s glorious majesty and excellency; he has a sense of the vast distance that there is between God and him. He is honorable in his eyes upon the account of His holiness; he sees the admirableness of His wisdom and mercy. And there are none that stand in competition with Him in his thoughts. “I know that God is great, that our God is above all gods” (Psa 135:5). He sees that (God) is every way worthy to be obeyed. He is convinced and satisfied that He is worthy of all that adoration and respect, that labor and service, which He requires; that He is worthy of all and much more than we can give Him.
Second, love. (This) necessarily arises from such a high esteem. And indeed, a knowledge and sense of God’s excellency is the foundation of all gracious respect to Him. Where there is a becoming, mutual respect between a parent and child, the child has complacency in his parent. His presence is pleasing and his absence grievous. It is delightful to him to dwell with his parent; it is what makes his father’s house pleasant to him. And he takes delight in his father’s care and provision; and in his commands and all communications between him and his father, (he) is delighted in his father’s favor.
(In the same way,) the soul has a filial respect to God; (it) has an unfeigned love to Him and a natural and entire delight in Him. He loves Him for His own sake, for His glory and excellency, for which He is worthy to be loved. He has the highest place in his affections, the throne of his heart. He delights in His presence, in beholding Him. He loves to see Him spiritually and is grieved when He hides His face from him. When God is present with him, then it is a time of rest and rejoicing with him. When He withdraws Himself, it is a time of mourning. He takes great delight in God’s favor; a smile from God puts life into his frame. He is therefore greatly desirous of doing what shall be pleasing and acceptable to Him; it is a pleasure to him to obey His commands. He loves to be like his Father and imitate Him. He earnestly seeks God’s glory and is rejoiced when any glory is brought to God’s name and when he can be any way the instrument of it.
Third, humble reverence. Reverence is a disposition becoming children towards their parents by reason of the superiority and authority that ought to be maintained in the parent over his child, and by reason of the relation they stand in to them as means of their being. And this is a respect towards the parent that attends love and complacency in the dutiful child. And this especially takes place in those that have a filial disposition towards God; [it] necessarily arises from a knowledge of God’s glory and the distance between Him and us. God’s glory consists as well in His awful majesty, justice, and jealousy as in His attractive goodness and grace. And a due sense of that part of His glory will certainly possess the mind with awe and reverence, as a sense of His sweet beauty and goodness [will possess the mind] with joy and complacence.
It is not the nature of this holy awe and dread to be any allay to the pleasure and delight that the soul hath in God. But on the contrary, it heightens and increases it. When such majesty and grace are joined and a due sense of both are united, it only tends to make the soul vastly more to prize the object and to delight in the beauty and grace [of it].
There is nothing in this sort of reverence that anything tends to incline the soul to fly from God. It tends to make the soul to humble itself before God, but not to avoid His presence. What there is of fear, strictly speaking, in this reverential disposition does not necessarily flow from the nature of it, but only as we are in this world in an infirm and imperfect state. And therefore, in heaven, where this holy awe and reverence will be in perfection, there will be no fear, strictly so called. “Perfect love casteth out fear” (1Jo 4:18).
Fourth, trust. As the little child has entire confidence in its parents, it depends upon them for those things it needs. It trusts in the parents’ wisdom, strength, and faithfulness in taking care of it. It trusts in their love. It trusts in them to instruct and guide it, to lead, to uphold, to defend, and to provide for [it]. In any danger, it will fly to its parents. It puts confidence in them.
The same disposition is in them who are of a childlike disposition towards God. They have an acquiescence of mind in the sense and persuasion that they have of God’s sufficiency, His love, and His faithfulness to His Word. God is their fountain to Whom they look for what they need and the refuge to Whom they fly in time of danger. Such a respect to God should be the main principle of a Christian’s obedience. God should be obeyed from this ingenuous spirit more than from fear of punishment or respect to self-interest. The Christian’s obedience ought not to be mercenary or slavish, but of free choice and with disinterested inclination and delight of soul arising from such a filial disposition towards Him that he obeys.
https://takeupcross.com
takeupcross
Take Up the Cross 