Bible Ballistics: BBs #212 A Fortnight Of Thanks-Living #2!

I thank God for the five great children in our family, as well as the four wonderful grandchildren. What a blessing to be the parents of children and watch them flourish and grow.

It’s not always easy to be a parent, especially a godly, Bible believing parent. Our prayer is that all our children will come to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and that we will live out a vibrant Biblical faith before them. Being people who truly love children—both having them and taking the time to be a part of their lives, leading them to, and teaching them the truths of God’s Word, to prepare them for the dangers and pitfalls of the world.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127:3-5

While we live in world that claims to “love” children, we see on every hand that children are often only “loved” if they’re convenient, planned, affordable and or timely. I can’t find any of those ideas in the Psalm, but that they are “an heritage of the Lord”. How can we say we “love” children, when we care for and protect the “trees”, and the “whales”, and the “endangered species” but not the unborn? Our world wants to save everything but “human babies”—which seem to be, on the other hand, totally expendable on the altar of convenience, lust, sexual freedom, selfishness, greed and immorality.

I pray that God will truly give us a heart to love, appreciate, desire, and be grateful to have children in our lives again. And when we do, may we teach them diligently the truths of God. And we can only do that successfully when we follow the imperatives of Deuteronomy 6:

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Only when we know and love God ourselves can we share His ways with the children in our care, sharing the truths of God in life lessons all along the way. If we will be diligent to do this God says we will see results:

“And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:” Deuteronomy 6:20-21

God said that if we will live holy and righteous lives before our children, teach them the truth at every teachable opportunity and lead them to the knowledge of God, according to His Word, they will then, in time, ask us “why” do we live “this way”? Then we can share with them what God has done, and is doing in our lives by His loving grace.

So, I challenge to us all to truly be grateful for our children and grandchildren. To be grateful enough to live before them a holy life, that they might see what it means to know God. And when they ask us “why”, to have an answer that agrees with the life we have been living before them. Are you grateful?