Perspective on Children - Sunday February 08, 2015
Deliver my soul . . . from men with Your hand, O Lord, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure; they are satisfied with children, and leave their abundance to their babes. As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake. Psalm 17:13-15
Children are often devalued in our world. Our self-centeredness and lack of love deceive us into thinking they are financial and emotional burdens to endure. The opposite extreme is equally as bad. This unhealthy philosophy makes our children the center of our universe, not God. That is the idea from Psalm 17 above. Parents, "whose portion is in this life," and not the next, are often devoted to their children in an unwholesome way. These parents inadvertently facilitate their children's natural selfishness, often producing individuals who believe the world revolves around them.
Children are to be valued, loved, and taught to love others: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." (Psalm 127:3-5). When we genuinely love the Lord and our family, it gives us confidence to speak about Christ because of what we have seen God do in our family. Our children are intended to help us in the furtherance of the gospel. They are to be "like arrows in the hand of a warrior," spiritual weapons that God uses to show unbelievers that Jesus is alive in us and to reveal their need for salvation. What is your perspective on children?
Submitted by:
Stephen Scott Nelson
Atlanta House Churches
Atlanta, Georgia
One-Year Reading Plan:
Exodus 28:1-43
Matthew 25:31-26:13
Psalms 31:9-18
Proverbs 8:12-13
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