Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD. May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem, and may you live to see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel. Psalms 128:1-6 NIV
The man who respects, honors and reverences the Lord and walks in his ways is blessed, his wife is blessed and his children are blessed. He and his wife are blessed with many children and they also live long enough to see their children blessed with children.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalms 113:9 KJV
God is the One who blesses us with children. If we want children, we can stand on His promises that say that He will bless us with children. Not only does He promise to bless us with children and make us mothers, but He will make us joyful mothers as well. Bearing children and raising them is a joyful experience if it is in the Lord.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 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. Psalms 127:3-5 KJV
God gives children to us. They are a blessing, a reward and an inheritance (birthright) from the Lord. We should always value and treasure them as God-given. Ultimately, they belong to God – He gives them to us for a season and He expects us to fear Him and to raise them to fear Him. He expects us to raise them and to teach them so honor and serve Him. He expects us to love them, to teach them that He loves them and to teach them to love Him. We are to teach them, train them and prepare them for a godly life and then to launch them out as arrows from a bow.
If you want your arrow to fly straight and hit the target, you must take time to prepare it perfectly. You cannot rush it. The arrow must be perfectly straight, with no cracks or splinters. The point must be sharp and the feathers must be perfectly placed and attached. When it is ready to fly, the bow must be pulled back all the way. The arrow must not be released before its time or it will fall short of the mark. We must carefully nurture and train our children and release them only when the time is right. Feeding them, clothing them and housing them are not enough. We must teach them about God, about life and how to live godly lives.
When they are fully taught – we must not hang onto them, but release them to fly into the future that God has planned for them. If we do not teach them properly and if we send them out before their time or unprepared, they will not go very far or do very much good with their lives. How can you help others when you can’t help yourself? If we do teach them properly and if we send them out prepared, they will go far and they will be a blessing to many wherever they go. Their lives will count for God and they will make a difference in eternity.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:5 NIV
A righteous man, by raising godly children, strengthens not only his family, but also his family’s position in society. There is unity in a godly family and therefore there is strength. The enemy that tries to contend with them is confounded and defeated.
“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:5-6 NIV
God holds us responsible for the spiritual welfare of our children and we should not take that responsibility lightly. Father God blesses us with our children and we are responsible to raise them in such a way that we can present them back to Him with joy.
