Relationships That Satisfy Series

We read in Psalm 91:16, “You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you. For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!” (TPT)

As we continue our study on the last verse of Psalm 91, we understand that the promise of God to one who has made Him his refuge, is that He will satisfy him with a full life in every way. However, sadly there are many who live a life of discontent, and there are few who are truly living a life of total satisfaction.

Relationship between parents and children

In many families parents are not happy about their children and in others, children are not satisfied with their parents. So also, many husbands complain about their wives and many wives are quite dissatisfied with their husbands. None of us as parents who have children chose them or selected them, but our children were given to us by God Himself. The children in our home were ordained to be with us by God, and if this thought is firmly fixed in our minds, we will not complain about them. The same principle applies for children too, for the fact remains that no child can chose who they would like to have as their parents.

We read in Psalm 127:3,“Children are a gift from the LORD; a productive womb, the LORD's reward.” (ISV)

First and foremost as parents we must acknowledge that our children are God’s gift to us and so also children must understand that parents are God’s gift to them. It is only when we do so, will we appreciate these relationships and value them. If God were to come directly to us and entrust something which He would like you to take care of, I guess we would be extremely cautious in the way we handled or used it. That’s exactly how it is with our children, they are God’s precious gifts committed to our care. It is the responsibility of every parent to bring up our children as God desires and also the duty of every child to honor their parents.

It is a sad situation today when children grow up, are sometimes more educated than their parents that they forget to give them the honor that is due to them. If we do this, we will lose out on the blessings that is duly ours, as we have failed to honor our parents as God has commanded us. So also many parents are not satisfied with their children. Hence they are constantly comparing their children with other children and create a sense of bitterness and misery in the heart of their own children. Every child is unique and God has created them this way. It is only when we accept this fact, will we appreciate our own children. One of the reasons for constant friction in the home between parents and children is this habit of constantly comparing their children with others, who according to them are doing far better than their own. We should be careful to not cause hurt to our children, especially with our words, for these will have a long-lasting effect on their lives. Let us thank God for our children and when we do so, we will have peace in our hearts and a sense of satisfaction with them.

This is the case of many children too who compare their parents with parents of other friends or acquaintances. When their own parents are not able to provide them with some of the luxuries that other parents can, they get discontented. They even begin to question their parents about their capabilities to be a good provider for them. As children we should keep in mind that our parents sacrificed much to raise us up. Many parents have spent sleepless nights when their children were babies, educated them, taken care of them when they fell sick, provided for them and it is our obligation to give them due respect instead of complaining or questioning them. Children too need to realize that their parents are God’s special gift to them.

The prodigal son

Jesus often taught in parables and we will look at the one about the prodigal son in Luke 15 to understand more about the relationship between parents and children.

• He wanted his freedom

We read in Luke 15:11-12, Then Jesus said, "A man had two sons. The younger one told his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So the father divided his property between them. (ISV)

The father of these two boys was so wealthy and had so much of possessions, that he could actually divide them between both his sons. The father must have been a loving man for he did not question his son who wanted his share, but willingly divided the property and gave it to him. Not only did he give the share to the young son who asked, he also gave the share to the elder son who did not ask for it, for he was a just and fair father. Here are three qualities that are outstanding about this father, he gave willingly, he was loving and he was also a just man.