[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Aug/2026]
One of the unexpected gifts of becoming a parent has been how much it has taught me about God.
Before becoming a parent, I could understand, at a simple level, the idea that God loves us. I had heard it many times. I believed it. But loving my own daughter has helped me begin to grasp something of what that love might actually feel like. I by no means mean to compare myself to God here! Simply reflecting on how it has caused my understanding to develop.
There is something extraordinary about loving a child who cannot earn love. My daughter has never had to impress me, achieve anything specific, or get everything right in order for me to feel love for her. I do not love her because she is always well-behaved, because she never makes mistakes, or because she has somehow proved herself worthy. I love her simply because she is my child.
Being a parent is not always easy. There are difficult days, frustrating moments, and times when patience is tested. Yet even when I am correcting her, my love for her does not disappear. I may feel sadness, concern, or frustration, but underneath all of that is something deeper and more constant: she is really quite precious to me.
That has helped me think differently about God’s love for us, his kids. God is not emotionally distant or unmoved by our lives. He is not watching us coldly from far away, waiting for us to fail. The Bible speaks of a God who delights in his people, is compassionate towards them, grieves over their sin and patiently draws them back to himself.
Parenthood has also given me a small glimpse of grace. I want my daughter to grow, make wise choices and become all that she was created to be. But my love is not dependent on her progress. When she gets things wrong, my first instinct is not to reject her but to help her, forgive her and reassure her that the relationship between us is secure.
That does not make wrongdoing unimportant. Forgiveness is not pretending that nothing happened. It is choosing love over condemnation and restoration over rejection. It is being a key part of making a way back. God doesn’t sit and wait for us to make things right; he got down in amongst it with us and helped make a way for us.
Being a parent has not made me understand God completely. But it has helped me see that the God described in the Apostles’ Creed is not merely a distant power behind the universe. He is Father: personal, attentive and full of love.
That means I am not random, forgotten or alone. I am known by the God who made me – and held by the God who loves me.
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Last Sunday’s reflection: Live Like You Believe It by UCB
Contributed by Dazz Jones; © Dazz Jones