S44P8 – The blessings of the Psalms: the blessing of offspring
Psalm 127:3-5
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children 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 opponents in court.
Long before the days of grocery stores and restaurants, food was a little more difficult to come by. Not only did one have to plant, hunt and gather the day’s fare, but one also had to craft the tools and weapons used for these processes. When one is hunting, it is often a game of one opportunity and one shot. Miss, and the next meal could be on its way back into the wilderness in a flash. That is why those who made spears and arrows had to be precise. The same pressure existed for anyone in battle. If not sharp enough or properly aerodynamic, those weapons would yield little to no results. Even an expert archer can do only so much with a dull arrow, but if the fletcher gets it right, then the archer will be prepared for hunting as well as warfare with arrows to pierce both man and beast.
Parents are fletchers, and their children are arrows. We are in a battle for the ages to save souls and usher in Christ’s already-established defeat of sin and death. In this battle, God blesses those who bring forth the next generation of soldiers. It is a place of honor and responsibility to raise from infancy God’s army of saints on Earth. For the parent who really hones the craft of raising children and causes those children to grow strong and sharp in the Spirit, blessings await. The reality is that in raising our children we are also raising God’s children. He entrusts to us the work of protecting, teaching and molding his children. When done correctly, it is an act of obedience and sacrifice to God that does not go unnoticed. When we fill our quivers with sharp arrows, we indicate that we are serious about our preparation for battle.
When we help guide new believers to Christ, it is only natural and expected that we would desire to disciple them to become mighty warriors for God. We want them to be equipped for the battle before us, and we want them to be successful. When it comes to our children, we should want the same success in the Spirit. God gives us the gift of raising children because He knows the reward of being pleased by his child, his Son, and He wants us to know that pleasure. If we raise them rightly for the kingdom of God, we bless God with honor and bless the children with preparedness, and this brings a blessing back to us. Father, thank You for the gift of children, and make us parents who fill our quivers with the sharpest and the strongest in the Spirit.