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. Psalm 127
Children are not intended to replace or reduce our relationship with God or our service unto God. God doesn't intend for us to take an extended leave of absence from Him and our place of service while we raise our children.
Just the opposite. Childrearing becomes another task that God undertakes with us. God expects to be the builder of our homes, the keeper of our cities, the provider of our needs. And when we yield to this arrangements of things, He gives us sleep - rest.
To go a step further, these verses declare that it is vain to attempt to build our homes without Him.
God did not intend for children to become our idols around which we center our lives and measure our existance. Rather, they're arrows. Like arrows, they go with us as we walk through this life, safely housed in the quiver until the proper time for their release.
At the proper time, they're drawn from the quiver, carefully aimed at the target, and released with the proper force. Children, like arrows, will fly in the same direction as their parents' feet have been trodding. In fact, they will likely fly farther in the general direction traveled in the quiver. We shouldn't expect our children to fly in the opposite direction of our way of life.
How then should we raise our children?
- Keep serving, loving, and obeying God.
- Let God do the building.
- Keep your children safely in the quiver.
- Make sure your feet are traveling the right direction.
- When the time is right, let them go.
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