Children of God 

Marilyn Appleby

Jesus often referred to his disciples as ‘children’, even though they were clearly adults. For example in our reading today from Mark 10 v24, Jesus says: ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God’.

In fact we often refer to Christians as ‘children of God’, including ourselves whether we are adults or children. We call God our Father (e.g. Our Father in Heaven…), and we experience that Father-Child relationship that exists. Most human fathers are loving, kind and caring towards their children, which makes thinking of God as our Father quite natural and easy. For some, though, it is a different story. The father figure in their lives may have been violent, uncaring and anything but loving which makes it hard for them to liken God to a loving Father as it is outside of their personal experience.

If you know someone who finds it difficult to relate to God as a loving Father, please pray for them to experience God’s unconditional love. A loving father who cares so much more than they could ever imagine.