Grace
When we understand and experience God’s grace, love, and acceptance, we pass on grace, love and acceptance to our children. God loves us in spite of our sin and shortcomings. God not only loves us by forgiving us, but He likes us, He accepts us, He is for us. We don’t lose his affection each time we sin. Jesus died for all of our sins, the sins in the past, present, and future. He does not condemn us again and again; sin was condemned once and for all in Christ. God sees our inability as a part of our reality, and he is not mad at our weakness. He does not hold back affection until we perform perfectly. God is not surprised or upset by our behavior. He is patient with us. God loves us toward more life-giving choices. His conviction comes in love, not in guilt. We don’t have to be afraid of humbly owning our mistakes, because we know we are still accepted. We can acknowledge all of the sin that is inside of us, and look to God in dependence for help. In the same way we are not angered by our children’s behavior. We do not withhold relationship. We are not surprised at bad behavior. We have patience. We can accept our children even when they do wrong.
