What a great verse James 1:17 is – here is what it says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” This sweet little verse is tucked in to James chapter one between overcoming trials, and laying aside wickedness. I think James was using the oreo method of instruction! If you don’t know what that is, it is a wonderful way to soften something that seems hard to say. You say what needs to be said, but you put a little cream center in the middle of it, so it comes across a little more gently. This verse says that God is the giver. And that He gives good gifts. I love that God is consistently good! He is the giver of good gifts, and he never changes. We don’t have to wonder if He would ever do something bad to us, or send something bad to us. He doesn’t operate that way. He is consistent, and we can have confidence in His goodness to us. It is His goodness that draws men and women to salvation. It is His love that sent Jesus to the cross so we could have a personal relationship with God. It is by grace we are saved. All three of these words, goodness, love and grace show us that God isn’t a big bad dude in heaven with a stick ready to bop us on the head when we do wrong. He is waiting for us to talk to Him, longing for us to spend time in His presence, and prepared to let His grace cover our sin. That image seems like huge shoes to fill when looking at natural fathers, but we do have his love on the inside of us, we can imitate His goodness, and we can be gracious, even when we would rather pass judgement. Dads, you can be loving leaders in your home, and your words and actions can be motived by love, goodness and grace. Just like your Father in Heaven!
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