Katherine

Kathy,

You've touched on something that I have been pondering lately. Not sure my thoughts are coherent enough to express, but I'll try:

I think that there is a significant difference between a human seeking to parent "after" God and a human attempting to parent AS God.

When I think of the first, I imagine thoughtfully and prayerfully drawing on God's example as a parent where it is applicable to humans, while also pursuing Christ-likeness and striving for the other general principles of Christian behavior taught throughout God's Word. Also worth noting: God does not only picture Himself as a parent figure, but as a brother.. a friend... a shepherd... a king... a judge, etc. The "Father" analogy we tend to become so fixated is only one small aspect of who God is, and is one of many "pictures" that He uses in an attempt to portray Himself to us better. We aren't necessarily invited to assume all of the roles God the Father plays, but we ARE exhorted to be like Christ.

The second, I believe, begins to happen when parents try to assume an inappropriate amount of control over their children.. when they set themselves up as judge, jury, and executioner (figuratively speaking--the person who administers the sentence)... when they assume to know how their children think and feel at every turn without seeking out or allowing open communication, when they try to teach their children about God's laws and the wages of sin by creating and defining their own laws, sins, and wages. The power of being god-like in anyone's eyes is corrupting when that power it inserted into into the life and heart of someone who is, in fact, NOT God.