The label of parents as “God’s representatives” is familiar. Generally, this phrase is used to advise children to respect their parents. Calling parents “God’s representatives” emphasizes the important role parents play in their children’s lives and, therefore, that children must sincerely honor them. Often this label is used to end an argument between parent and child. The phrase underscores parental authority over a child’s life, so the child should follow the parents’ decisions. Certainly, calling parents God’s representatives is not incorrect, but it needs to be taken seriously since it is a serious claim.
If someone claims to be God’s representative, they must reflect God himself. We must not merely desire the authority that the title brings without recognizing the great responsibility behind it. By affirming that parents are God’s representatives, we are called to think and feel as He does. This calls for inner repentance. Before we teach, we must learn. Before we represent God, we must be like God. Because when a parent calls themselves “God’s representative,” a child will look to them to see what God is like. Parents may become the child’s first and last face associated with God. How tragic it is when parents fail to portray His face.
Being God’s representative also means being responsive to a child’s needs. Just as God’s presence in Jesus is always responsive to our needs—even before we ask—parents, as His representatives, should be responsive. A child’s primary needs begin with clothing, food, and shelter. Yet behind these three is a greater concurrent need: our presence as parents. It is understandable, especially in big cities, when parents struggle to always be present because of busyness. However, busyness must not excuse failing to give children quality time. They need to interact with parents to experience God’s presence, and parents must arrange this intentionally. Without interaction with parents, it will be harder for a child to connect with God later on. The child will have an image of God that is difficult to approach—an image shaped by their parents.
The account of Jairus pleading for his child’s healing in Matthew 9:18–19 not only shows God’s compassion and power. From another perspective, we can read the story as that of a father who is present and willing to sacrifice anything for his child. As a synagogue leader, Jairus had high social standing. Yet he set that status aside when he knelt before Jesus, a “street teacher” and a carpenter’s son. What might be considered shameful for a synagogue leader, he did for the sake of his only child. Jairus’s action portrays parents who reflect God’s face—willing to sacrifice His Son for sinful humanity. Jairus also showed up at the lowest point of his child’s life, unhesitatingly giving time and risking his dignity. In this sense, Jairus showed what it means to represent God well.
This short episode of Jairus teaches every parent—not only biological parents but everyone around children—what it means to represent God. A representative of God is not merely a title that carries authority, but a moral and spiritual responsibility. On one hand, because this calling is so serious, each of us is called to keep improving ourselves and be present in every child’s life. We are the open books that can explain who God is to those who cannot yet understand or experience God directly. On the other hand, it is an honor to have the opportunity to reflect God’s face to the little humans who are just learning about life.