To Live is Christ — with a burden to model God’s compassion

Once upon a time, most parents had compassion on their children. Is this a fairy tale? Yesterday’s newspaper had a story about a mother who drowned her two small daughters. Earlier, I read about a man who killed his teenage daughter for dating a boy he didn’t like. On a less tragic note, in a restaurant we noticed a woman and her small boy. Throughout the ordering and the entire meal, she was texting on her phone and he looked so sad.

My mother often said that no matter what happens, parents always love their kids. I’m glad she is in a better place where newspapers do not exist, and where she cannot see what we see. However, she did know about these Bible predictions. . . . 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1–5, NIV)

Sinful behavior has been happening since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Maybe contemporary news adds an immediacy, but selfish behavior seems on the increase, not just here but all over the world. Governments make decisions without regarding the people. Armies kill innocents. At home, my daughter says that common “niceness” is disappearing from the workplace. Many employers no longer treat their workers with ordinary good manners.

The love of a father for his children is also hard to find. Consequently, thousands of battered women and abused children have no concept of a compassionate father. It is little wonder that they have trouble believing in a heavenly Father who cares for them, although the Bible says He does:

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13, NIV)

I read this verse and think of those women I know whose father abused them. I also know several men who were abandoned, ignored, abused, or mistreated by their fathers. How can a little boy think that God loves him when his earthly Father beats him, refuses to provide his basic needs, or seldom speaks to him, let alone with kindness?

I know that the Bible speaks to all generations. Through the centuries, thousands have been blessed and transformed by the Word of God. However, this verse all by itself is hampered. Too many fathers, who are supposed to model God’s love and compassion to their children, have dropped the ball. They have gone away from God themselves. Instead of being like Him, they are making proud and selfish choices, abusing their family and failing to care and provide for them. Even worse, because of the sin of their fathers (and mothers), little children are turned away from God also.

Lord, may my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren see Your loving compassion in me.