The difference is palpable\u2014and tragic.\u00a0Watch a visiting family with two young\u00a0children enter a church building and the\u00a0response you witness is overwhelming.\u00a0People go out of their way (literally) to\u00a0meet these new visitors and share with\u00a0them what their congregation has to offer\u00a0children.<\/p>\n
But consider for a moment the\u00a0response to a family who has more than\u00a0five children. The response is not as overwhelming.\u00a0In fact, they are is often viewed\u00a0as odd, irresponsible, not financially wise,\u00a0lower class, or socially ignorant. More\u00a0often than not, Christians steer very clear\u00a0of extremely large families. After all, society\u00a0has successfully convinced us that\u00a0\u201ctwo\u201d is the magic number for children.<\/p>\n
Even from the pulpit we hear a preacher\u00a0joking about \u201cnarrow escape\u201d of he and\u00a0his wife thinking they might be pregnant. The fact of the matter is, this is not a joking\u00a0subject.\u00a0How sad is it to hear a preacher teach a\u00a0powerful lesson on children and the home\u00a0only to realize that his actions are teaching\u00a0a totally different lesson? I have listened\u00a0firsthand to a preacher give counsel\u00a0about the \u201cwisdom\u201d of only having one or\u00a0two children\u2014and that anything more\u00a0than that is \u201cfoolish.\u201d This same preacher\u00a0would then mount the pulpit and preach a\u00a0tear-jerking lesson on Psalm 127 and children.\u00a0While his voice spoke one message,\u00a0his life and his actions spoke an entirely\u00a0different message.<\/p>\n
There are some\u00a0Christians who need to really re-evaluate\u00a0their view of children in the light of God\u2019s\u00a0Word.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what I intend on teaching\u00a0my children about the blessings\u00a0of children.<\/strong><\/p>\n Not a morning passes by in our house\u00a0when your mom and I are not thankful for\u00a0the sounds of little feet and tender young\u00a0voices. We feel incredibly blessed by God\u00a0to have children, and we pray that you will\u00a0be able to experience the same joys of\u00a0parenthood.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not exactly sure of the precise date\u00a0of when children went from being considered\u00a0a blessing to being considered baggage,\u00a0but unfortunately I have witnessed it\u00a0countless times. Parents oftentimes view\u00a0the existence of their children as competition\u00a0for their own personal desires and\u00a0wishes. At some point along the way,\u00a0parents began to value prosperity more\u00a0than posterity.\u00a0 I hope that you will boldly\u00a0reject society\u2019s view\u00a0 of children. Never\u00a0look upon children as a burden or an\u00a0expense. Sure, we need to be financially\u00a0responsible\u2014but children are not a tally\u00a0mark we put under the \u201cexpense\u201d column.<\/p>\n Sadly, some parents today do not even\u00a0like their children. The responsibility for\u00a0rearing these children is given to anyone\u00a0and everyone\u2014except their own parents\u00a0(see Deuteronomy 6:4-9\u2014a passage\u00a0directed toward parents). In some homes,\u00a0children are treated as just another piece\u00a0of property, a commodity, or a showpiece\u00a0to be trotted out when guests visit.\u00a0Parents have forgotten that they are\u00a0responsible to return the souls of their\u00a0children to God, and that every soul is precious\u00a0(Matthew 16:24-26).<\/p>\n Every time you see a child\u2019s face, I hope\u00a0that the first thought that enters your mind\u00a0will be \u201ca blessing from God.\u201d The inspired\u00a0psalmist observed, \u201cBehold, children are\u00a0a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the\u00a0womb is a reward\u201d (Psalm 127:3). It then\u00a0continues by saying, \u201cHappy is the man\u00a0who has his quiver full of them.\u201d When\u00a0you see a family enter a church building\u00a0with many children, I hope you will remind\u00a0yourself and that mother how blessed she\u00a0truly is. Solomon wrote, \u201cChildren\u2019s children\u00a0are the crown of old men, and the\u00a0glory of children is their father\u201d (Proverbs\u00a017:6). I\u2019m looking forward to that crown!<\/p>\n While I don\u2019t know God\u2019s plan for each one\u00a0of you, I do pray you enjoy parenthood\u2014\u00a0whether it be you physically having children\u00a0or adopting little ones into your family.\u00a0I wish for you a full quiver so that you\u00a0too can experience the love, joys, and\u00a0happiness that you have brought your\u00a0mother and me.<\/p>\n Love, <\/span><\/p>\n Dad<\/span><\/p>\n By Brad Harrub, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Brad Harrub is the author of \u201cConvicted: A Scientist Examines the Evidence for Creation<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHeart of the Matter<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and co-author of \u201cEngage: Rethinking How We Walk Down the Aisle<\/a>\u201c<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The difference is palpable\u2014and tragic.\u00a0Watch a visiting family with two young\u00a0children enter a church building and the\u00a0response you witness is overwhelming.\u00a0People go out of their way (literally) to\u00a0meet these new visitors and share with\u00a0them what their congregation has to offer\u00a0children. But consider for a moment the\u00a0response to a family who has more than\u00a0five children. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,46,52],"tags":[730,650,435,145,58,120,63],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-children","category-family","tag-adoption","tag-birth","tag-blessings","tag-brad","tag-children","tag-family","tag-parents","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n