Gray hair is a crown of splendor. It’s attained by a righteous life. ~Proverbs
16:31
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are a pride to their children. ~Proverbs 17:6
Sons are an inheritance from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gates. ~Psalm 127:3-5
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. ~Psalm 128
Are you familiar with these acronyms? “SILK= Single Income, Lots of Kids,” and “DINK= Double Income, No Kids.” Leave it to our modern society to find ways of subdividing even our family structures. Sadly, many younger couples who could have children, are opting for the second choice.
It doesn’t help that every year a report comes out touting the cost of raising children today and it is always put in a negative, overwhelming figure that would alarm even the wealthiest among us. Never mind the fact that there are many creative ways of bringing down the numbers and altogether avoiding many costs included in the figure. Nevertheless, it’s an alarming statistic that causes many to choose the DINK lifestyle over the call to sacrifice, and in some people’s eyes, suffer.
Then there are those who may have one, or possibly two children, just to balance it out, but large families are frowned up on. We received negative comments from just having four children. I guess that there were those who thought that our family footprint was just too big.
The sad truth is, from the world’s perspective, children have never been highly valued. In Bible times, in the surrounding cultures, children were readily sacrificed to pagan gods, a practice that God absolutely forbid His people, yet, near the end, they did it too. It was also common in surrounding cultures for unwanted children to be placed at the roadside after birth in a practice commonly referred to as, “exposure.” Ezekiel refers to this practice in chapter 16, as God describes himself rescuing Israel as an unwanted cast off.
The Greek play Oedipus Rex is also based on this practice, in which the servant was charged to take the baby boy out to be eaten by wolves. Children could be discarded for any reason, gender, deformity. The Father had the final say. If he didn’t like the child, for any reason, the child was disposed of. There was little a mother could do to stop it.
The passages today stand in sharp contrast to the cultural thinking of the day that was all around Israel. Valuing children, before they became productive adults, was rare, but then to go even further and say that they are a reward, was unheard of. Jesus demonstrates this value even further as He takes the time to bless them in front of everyone and honor them as representatives of the Kingdom.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will NEVER enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 18:1-4)
In the past, when Kathy and I have worked with children, and this passage in Matthew comes up, we often ask them why they think God values them so much and wants us to become like them? They are often taken aback by the question. They are selfless enough not to know what makes them so special. We are then able to share with them that, first of all, God created them, so of course He will love His creation.
More than that, however, they are models of unconditional love, trust and dependency on others, as Christ calls all of us to be. We tend to forget that as we grow up and become self-sufficient, independent, and self-determined. While becoming independent is a good idea in a physical sense, the qualities that God values in physical children, are qualities He never wants His children to grow out of. In fact, He wants to see us grow into them more and more.
“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are a pride to their children.” As I said before, so many are opting for not having children today, preferring a pet that can be crated or left alone for hours, even overnight, without a sense of guilt. Then, when the owner returns home there is that greeting of unconditional acceptance and no laundry. Pets are the perfect solution to the “Me generation.” There is little training, no character molding, and they accommodate to the owner’s schedule without much difficulty.
When life is viewed in dollars and cents and what is convenient for me, what is often overlooked is the blessing a child can bring. “Children are a crown? To the aged?” Indeed they are. I’ve heard it said that a child is a message to a time we will not see. What we teach our children, they will carry on to the next generation even after they are gone too. If we have taught them well, it will bring us honor. If we live well, they will be glad to claim us as theirs.
I’m sure that we can all think of lessons that were taught to us by our parents and grandparents that we have passed along to our own children and now, hopefully they are passing along even further. We are the message sent by our parents and grandparents, just as our children are the message to the next. Sadly, those who choose to live in the here and now, with no kids, may be missing out on having a rich, full message to pass along to others.
They may be able to pass it along in writing. They may be able to leave their financial gain to ministries and missions and these are all good things, but there is the challenge that comes from investing in a person that has a reward beyond the tangible, that is lost on many today. God loves little children. He intends them as a blessing not a burden.
It is satan who is waging war on children. From the womb on, he will destroy all of God’s blessings that he can! He is responsible for the lies told about children that cause humans to treat them as having little value. But when we defend children and value them, we are truly doing the Lord’s work.
The story is told, and I believe it is true, that the Romans wanted more sons, so it was usually baby girls who were put out by the roadside to die of exposure. When people became Christians and began learning about how much God loved all people, including little children, they began rescuing those little girls.
A generation later, all those wanted boy babies had grown up, but they had few girls to marry. Where do you think that they had to look to find single girls? And what kind of values do you think those girls were taught growing up? It is believed that this was a big, contributing factor to the weakening of the Roman Empire and the strengthening of the Christian Church. What a message to send into the future!
I don’t believe that any of us would doubt that children, and especially grandchildren are a blessing from the Lord. We grieve with those who long for children but can’t have their own. We applaud those who take in the children who are lost or unwanted. We need to support them any way we can. They are doing the Lord’s work.
“Gray hair is a crown of splendor. It’s attained by a righteous life.” May we all give thanks for our gray hair as we seek to pass on our message of righteousness to a generation yet to be born, that we will never see.
Prayer: Dear God, known to us as Father, Your very name tells us that you love children and that we are Your children. You have sent us as messengers of Your gospel and Your values and wisdom into the world of darkness that needs Your light. May our children follow our example by following You with us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Let the Little Children Come
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are a pride to their children. ~Proverbs 17:6
Sons are an inheritance from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gates. ~Psalm 127:3-5
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. ~Psalm 128
Are you familiar with these acronyms? “SILK= Single Income, Lots of Kids,” and “DINK= Double Income, No Kids.” Leave it to our modern society to find ways of subdividing even our family structures. Sadly, many younger couples who could have children, are opting for the second choice.
It doesn’t help that every year a report comes out touting the cost of raising children today and it is always put in a negative, overwhelming figure that would alarm even the wealthiest among us. Never mind the fact that there are many creative ways of bringing down the numbers and altogether avoiding many costs included in the figure. Nevertheless, it’s an alarming statistic that causes many to choose the DINK lifestyle over the call to sacrifice, and in some people’s eyes, suffer.
Then there are those who may have one, or possibly two children, just to balance it out, but large families are frowned up on. We received negative comments from just having four children. I guess that there were those who thought that our family footprint was just too big.
The sad truth is, from the world’s perspective, children have never been highly valued. In Bible times, in the surrounding cultures, children were readily sacrificed to pagan gods, a practice that God absolutely forbid His people, yet, near the end, they did it too. It was also common in surrounding cultures for unwanted children to be placed at the roadside after birth in a practice commonly referred to as, “exposure.” Ezekiel refers to this practice in chapter 16, as God describes himself rescuing Israel as an unwanted cast off.
The Greek play Oedipus Rex is also based on this practice, in which the servant was charged to take the baby boy out to be eaten by wolves. Children could be discarded for any reason, gender, deformity. The Father had the final say. If he didn’t like the child, for any reason, the child was disposed of. There was little a mother could do to stop it.
The passages today stand in sharp contrast to the cultural thinking of the day that was all around Israel. Valuing children, before they became productive adults, was rare, but then to go even further and say that they are a reward, was unheard of. Jesus demonstrates this value even further as He takes the time to bless them in front of everyone and honor them as representatives of the Kingdom.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will NEVER enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 18:1-4)
In the past, when Kathy and I have worked with children, and this passage in Matthew comes up, we often ask them why they think God values them so much and wants us to become like them? They are often taken aback by the question. They are selfless enough not to know what makes them so special. We are then able to share with them that, first of all, God created them, so of course He will love His creation.
More than that, however, they are models of unconditional love, trust and dependency on others, as Christ calls all of us to be. We tend to forget that as we grow up and become self-sufficient, independent, and self-determined. While becoming independent is a good idea in a physical sense, the qualities that God values in physical children, are qualities He never wants His children to grow out of. In fact, He wants to see us grow into them more and more.
“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are a pride to their children.” As I said before, so many are opting for not having children today, preferring a pet that can be crated or left alone for hours, even overnight, without a sense of guilt. Then, when the owner returns home there is that greeting of unconditional acceptance and no laundry. Pets are the perfect solution to the “Me generation.” There is little training, no character molding, and they accommodate to the owner’s schedule without much difficulty.
When life is viewed in dollars and cents and what is convenient for me, what is often overlooked is the blessing a child can bring. “Children are a crown? To the aged?” Indeed they are. I’ve heard it said that a child is a message to a time we will not see. What we teach our children, they will carry on to the next generation even after they are gone too. If we have taught them well, it will bring us honor. If we live well, they will be glad to claim us as theirs.
I’m sure that we can all think of lessons that were taught to us by our parents and grandparents that we have passed along to our own children and now, hopefully they are passing along even further. We are the message sent by our parents and grandparents, just as our children are the message to the next. Sadly, those who choose to live in the here and now, with no kids, may be missing out on having a rich, full message to pass along to others.
They may be able to pass it along in writing. They may be able to leave their financial gain to ministries and missions and these are all good things, but there is the challenge that comes from investing in a person that has a reward beyond the tangible, that is lost on many today. God loves little children. He intends them as a blessing not a burden.
It is satan who is waging war on children. From the womb on, he will destroy all of God’s blessings that he can! He is responsible for the lies told about children that cause humans to treat them as having little value. But when we defend children and value them, we are truly doing the Lord’s work.
The story is told, and I believe it is true, that the Romans wanted more sons, so it was usually baby girls who were put out by the roadside to die of exposure. When people became Christians and began learning about how much God loved all people, including little children, they began rescuing those little girls.
A generation later, all those wanted boy babies had grown up, but they had few girls to marry. Where do you think that they had to look to find single girls? And what kind of values do you think those girls were taught growing up? It is believed that this was a big, contributing factor to the weakening of the Roman Empire and the strengthening of the Christian Church. What a message to send into the future!
I don’t believe that any of us would doubt that children, and especially grandchildren are a blessing from the Lord. We grieve with those who long for children but can’t have their own. We applaud those who take in the children who are lost or unwanted. We need to support them any way we can. They are doing the Lord’s work.
“Gray hair is a crown of splendor. It’s attained by a righteous life.” May we all give thanks for our gray hair as we seek to pass on our message of righteousness to a generation yet to be born, that we will never see.
Prayer: Dear God, known to us as Father, Your very name tells us that you love children and that we are Your children. You have sent us as messengers of Your gospel and Your values and wisdom into the world of darkness that needs Your light. May our children follow our example by following You with us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Let the Little Children Come
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