I found a nice commentary here. This is one of those short books that I wonder about. Why was this letter so important to have in the canon? Who was it to and why?
From the commentary linked above I found this, "family imagery also underscores that it was not by the children's initiative that this family came into existence."
How's that for an image? Many of the parenting principles that I've used with my children are based on that very idea. These children did not ask to be here. They were brought into this world by us and we are charged with caring for them and helping them be what they want to be until they are capable of striking out on their own.
In a similar way, we did not ask to become God's children. He created us and is there to support, guide, and love us on our path. I love that image of God. He could have created beings that would automatically worship Him and do everything He told them to do. We can't create children like that, although current parenting philosophy tends to treat children as if we can. God created us "in His image" and I believe that our free will is what makes us like Him.
I'm just loving the analogy and having a hard time putting what I'm feeling and thinking into words best to describe it to others.
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