A beautiful pattern to meditate on and follow, in our relationship with our children, is the relationship of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in a past eternity. Jesus was always God’s delight.
A wise older man who had seen a measure of roughness in a younger man’s dealings with his children, told the father that his children should feel, on a daily basis, that they are loved and cherished. Correction and chastening are needed at times, and consistent discipline does demonstrate love and care. But children should have an underlying knowledge that they are our delight. We convey our delight with a smile, a hug, and an encouraging word.
The older man saw a lack of tenderness in the young man, and so he shared with him the perfect balance of scripture, that bringing up children takes admonition and nurture. It is all too easy, in our zeal to be the “perfect parent,” for severe admonition to overshadow tender nurturing. We mothers need to remember this also, and so the Apostle Paul tells Titus to “teach the young women ... to love their children” (Titus 2:44That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, (Titus 2:4)).