"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 whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalms 127:3-5
Psalms 127 contains a powerful reminder that children are a gift from God. The soul of a nation is revealed by how the innocent and the most vulnerable are treated. Any nation that hides behind "the law of the land" to devalue children will eventually turn a blind eye to the murder of them.
Abortion in America is a legally validated, and culturally accepted final solution to children judged to be an unnecessary inconvenience. Judging a child's heartbeat as an invasion of privacy and excusing the parents' heartless evasion of responsibility, the law of the land invites God's judgment. Stop it!
Children are a heritage of The Lord. They are not a punishment, but a blessing. They are to be protected by their mothers, directed by their fathers, and appreciated by both.
Gift or heritage is the same word that is often used in the Old Testament to describe the land provided by God to the respective tribes. It also refers to the Holy Land as a whole and to Israel by name.
The Holy Land was a heritage, a gift from God, but remained a possession of God. He passed it into the hands of His children, but never released ownership of it. They were not owners of the land, but stewards of it. Jehovah continued to watch over Israel and care for it as His own.
In the same way, children are a gift from God. They are on loan to parents from God. They are to be watched over and cared for on behalf of God. Wise parents are tapped into God's value system, and remind themselves they are blessed to receive children from God.
In December 1979 I was standing at the window of the maternity ward admiring our firstborn child, Ashley, when Sharon Ross spoke these words to me.
"She is a little blank slate and you can write on her anything that you want."
Sharon's words triggered a crisis of faith that took my prayer life to the next level in an instant. I had been so caught up in the process of Ashley's birth that I had forgotten the purpose of God's gift. God had a plan for Ashley's life and I was responsible for guiding her towards Him. She arrived in this world with God's hand-prints all over her. Every child does. That is The Heritage.
NOTE TO SELF: Psalms 127 clearly describes the role of a father as a guardian and a guide to these precious gifts from God. A wise father not only collects arrows, he directs them.. A misdirected arrow is a dangerous weapon. An unused arrow is a pointless one. Get the point?
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!