Sometimes my daughter does not like sitting in her car seat. Whenever she begins to protest I immediately tell her “I’m not your friend, I’m your mother.” If I’m in a talkative mood I may go on to talk about the statistics, and how the carseat is important to save her life etc. etc. etc. But if I’m not in a talkative mood… then I just buckle her in, tell her “I’m not your friend, I’m your mother” and move on…
I’m her mother first. It’s my job to keep her as safe as I can. It’s my job to raise her the best that I can. I would love for us to be friends, but I’m her mother first, and that is my number one priority.
Sometimes I wonder if God tells us that too. I wonder if he says “I’m not your friend, I’m your father.” I know, I know, we all talk about we are friends of God, and how God knows our name… but perhaps God’s priority is not just to be our friend, but to keep us safe, to raise us up to have the virtues that he wants us to have. Perhaps when we fight against God’s plan for our lives it’s because we don’t understand that God’s priority is not to make us happy, even though He would like us to be happy…
I’m thankful that God is my father first, and my friend second, ‘cos great fathers are priceless!!!
