perfect love anchors us

How can a child remain strong in the face of criticism, persecution, bullying or adverse circumstances? In the same way you and I can weather the storms of life - by anchoring into God. In this same way, a child can weather the criticism or rejection of their peers when they know they are loved and cherished by their parents.

¹This strength is not based on circumstances or conditions being perfect -- having perfect friends, resources, abilities or perfect appearance, etc. -- but on godly love given to them by loving godly parents. This love sustains them in the face of adversity.

Knowing within we are loved inoculates us from the insults, emotional attacks, and blows of life without.

This is what also makes great ²leaders. It is not just their skills and abilities, or commitment to principle - though both of these are certainly significant and beneficial - but a clear sense of their own value due to being rooted and grounded in love i.e. being valued by someone significant.

When we have a strong sense of value - initially due to being valued by those closest and most valuable to us, such as our parents, and ultimately God Himself - we are impervious to outside ³assaults. The greater our awareness of our value to God the more impervious we are to insults. 

What others think, does not carry as much weight because we know we are accepted, embraced and loved by those we value most and are closest to us; those who see and know us best (warts and all) yet still love us most. 

When we know there is someone who knows us best - with all our flaws as well as strengths - and still loves us, we are less impacted when others point out those flaws. The more grounded we are in love the more impervious and oblivious we are to the criticism of others and the less influence their opinion has on us. 

The only parent that loves perfectly is our heavenly Father.

However human parents soundly grounded in God's love are the first and primary means of conveying God's love for and to their child. The better they convey this love as the child matures, the easier it is for a child to transfer their trust in their earthly parents - a community of two - to their heavenly parent - a community of Father, Son, and Spirit - when they launch out on their own.

If a child grows up knowing that God is the source of life, love, and all things, by how their parents spoke and lived, the parents have done their job well.

What about those of us who grew up with less than perfect parents or possibly no parents at all?

We are told in Psalm 27:10 

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

The most perfect parents are those who've learned to draw their sense of value from the perfect love of God and by that love are empowered to love their child with God's love in a way all of us are designed to experience. If our parents did not live this way because they never received and knew God's love themselves, we can go directly to God for love because He is the Source.

For a discussion on whether loving ourselves comes into play above click here. ______________________________________________________________

¹To draw strength from God simply means we have a strong sense/awareness/ recognition of our value, worth, significance, importance etc. because God recognizes and acknowledges these about us i.e. we feel this way about ourselves because we know this is how God sees and feels about us.

²Because of this, all followers and lovers of Jesus can be leaders i.e. they can be fearless in the face of opposition. The more grounded they are in God's love the stronger and more impervious they are to any criticism, attacks, or mistreatment. Leadership is not just a personality trait or a certain skill set but also a character quality i.e. a deeply rooted sense of their worth because they know they are valued by their Creator. Though we all have different skills and personalities - some greater and stronger than others - character can be developed within all personality types. 

³A strong sense of our worth in and through God is also the foundation for courage -- along with all other positive character qualities. When we truly and deeply know God is for us, we also know no one or nothing can ultimately (eternally) be against us. For we know our current troubles are "...preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..."