"As a father shows compassion to His children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:13-14)
The Lord, because He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, deals with His children according to His own nature, and theirs. He sees us, in Christ, with all of our sins, youthful immaturity, and ignorance, and out of His abounding wisdom, deals with us as we are. He does not cast us aside for our weakness. We belong to Him by simple faith in His perfect Son, and He has assumed responsibility for our growth in godliness. He is a perfect Father, giving compassion to His little ones, because He sees us for what we currently are, and will shape us into what we will be. This is such an encouragement for His people, to know that this is the way God deals with His own. It does not mean that His discipline will never hurt. It does, but we can rest assured that He always deals with us in love. All He does as a Father is perfectly measured, with the right intent, aimed at our good...I couldn't help but think, as I reflected on His Fatherly compassion, of my lack of it at times with my own children, especially when they were smaller. This has made me realize that I did not always deal with them as they were, but as I thought they should be. They often acted out of ignorance, because that's what small children do. Instead of being slow to anger and compassionate, I was quick to frustration and demanding. I cannot go back and undo those fatherly failings of mine, but I can move forward with two encouragements from these thoughts from God's Word: (1) Even when I was failing as a father in those moments, God was not failing in His. He was still dealing patiently with me during that time in my weakness and sin. And now, as I see that, I give Him praise and bless the name of Jesus Christ, who brought me into a relationship with such a Father. (2) Seeing who God is to me spurs my heart to repent of my own fatherly sins. My children may not be as small as they once were, but I can take these words to heart, and receive God's transforming grace to become more like Him toward my children in the time while they still are in our home. My Father is currently showing me compassion, because He knows my frame. He remembers that I am dust. But, thankfully, I'm dust in His house, under His care.
