Sons are a heritage 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.
Ps 127:3-5
Now don’t get me wrong, I was never one of those guys who say they don’t want to have kids. No sir. From the time it became a pertinent question (namely engagement to marriage), I was firmly in the five-years-from-now camp.
The interesting thing about five-years-from-now is that it is always… five years from whenever “now” happens to be. In other words, postponed indefinitely.
I wasn’t against having children, in fact I always pictured myself eventually with children. But there were a lot of “really great reasons” for not having them anytime soon.
children are a blessing from the Lord
Over the last several years I’ve spent a great deal of time learning and teaching about sexuality – how God made us male and female, designed us for marriage, and gave us sex as a marital one-flesh bond and as a way to participate with him in the creation of new life. Sexuality and childbearing in scripture are intimately linked.
Throughout scripture, childbearing is consistently taught to be a great good. The inability to bear children (Abraham and Sarah for just one example) is often a major point of tension around which the plot revolves. And when that difficulty is overcome by a miracle of God it is a great act of his loving kindness worthy of writing down for posterity.
As the psalmist writes, children are a reward and a blessing from God. It is a great good for us when we bear children.
uncovering unbelief
But as I taught and wrote about God’s design of sexuality, I slowly became aware that biblical truth was in direct conflict with my personal feelings on the matter. Despite what scripture said, my feelings said that children mess up an otherwise very nice and quiet and non-smelly household. (more…)
As soon as I knew he was a boy, I knew I would give him the middle name of Randolph: a family name and my middle name. In addition to “Wolf Shield” it’s also variously rendered as “Wolf Counselor” or “House Wolf.” The idea is a fierce, half-wild but loyal guardian. If you’ve read White Fang and remember how he protected the human family that adopted him at the end of the book, you can grasp a good idea of what the name suggests to me.
More than ever I have felt the power of things greater than me. I wonder if I have really robed myself in the armor; have I ever REALLY let God be in control? The battle drains my strength and weakens my knees. I wonder if I have been prepared for the true power of the pursuit — ravenous wolves who desire to take hold of the dear blessed place of gifts and salvation that my Hero has brought me. Stealing my promised land from me before I enter it (thank you, Beth Moore).
