Children
March 17, 2024
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. [1]
I am beginning with this passage from Proverbs because modern Christians have taken their understanding on important topics from the culture around them rather than the words of God. It is not as if the Bible does not address some of the subjects which Christians sometimes nonchalantly assimilate into their consciousness. God has spoken on many subjects. The problem is that many Christians do not know their Bible well enough. They fail to dig into it when they make life decisions.
But the Lord is telling us in this memorable passage that we should trust in him. Not just trust. We are to trust him with all our heart! We are not to lean on our own understanding. Rather, we are to acknowledge what God speaks on any issue, any potential decision, any life plans that we have. If we do this our path will be straight, that is, in accordance with his perfect will.
If we trust in God’s values and directions, as opposed to the culture’s values and directions, even as opposed to our own faulty and fallen understanding, then our paths will be glorious and fulfilled.
Do not lean on your own understanding, followers of the Lord Jesus! Trust in what God has revealed, especially when it is contrary to what you have heard or what you have believed in the past.
The other preliminary consideration is that God’s commands are to be followed wherever they are found, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament. The exception to this principle would be the ceremonial laws that pointed to either Christ, such as animal sacrifices, or the laws that taught separation from the nations, such as circumcision. We remember the words of our Lord Jesus:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.[2]
The laws of God represent the will of God. And the desire of every regenerate heart is to please God. Therefore, we seek to know God’s will and obey him.
It is God’s desire that we, as his creatures, have many children. I am going to prove this from Scripture. Now, the unbelieving world has adamantly refused to obey God in this matter. They will say things like the world is overpopulated, a lie, and they promote small families. But the follower of Christ ought to conform their thinking to God’s desires.
God gives an example of how his people would be blessed:
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the Lord. [3]
Each olive plant averages between 10 and 30 olive shoots. Thus, David is revealing that it is both God’s blessing (vs. 4) and will that a family consist of many children.
But, let’s start at the beginning:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [4]
God commanded our first parents to be fruitful and multiply. Here is an important question: Is this command also for us or was it only for Adam and Eve?
It could not have been for only Adam and Eve because, even though they lived for hundreds of years, the most children Eve could have had would probably be about 200. That doesn’t “fill the earth.” Therefore, this command was not only for them. Who is it for? It is for all of creation. It is part of the creation mandate and this command has never been rescinded by God.
Someone may attempt to argue that this command was to be followed just until the earth is filled. The earth is now filled, they say, so we no longer need to follow this command.
Is the earth filled? Not only is it not filled, it is not even close to being filled! All you have to do in order to see this is go on a plane ride to the West Coast. You will see some cities and many small town along the way, but what will become so obvious is that 95% or more of the land that you fly over is empty space with no people!
Presently, there are 8 billion people in the world. You could fit the entire population of the world in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming without being crowded, that is, everyone at arms length away.[5] If every person were given a sq. yard then over 20% of the park would still be empty!
The amount of food needed to support everyone indicates that the earth’s population capacity could be one trillion. Other studies have indicated 512 billion and 256 billion people. So, the earth is not overpopulated and not filled. It’s not close to being filled.
God not only repeated this command to Noah, twice, but also to Jacob:
God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.[6]
Having children is God’s design and intention for mankind and it is the main purpose of marriage[7]:
Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.[8]
God is seeking godly children! The word, seeking, means this is God’s purpose. God’s purpose for you in marriage is to have godly children.
A frequent theme throughout the Bible is that children are a blessing from God.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them! [9]
In this passage children are called the Lord’s heritage, a reward from God, and a blessing from God!
The Message is a paraphrase. Sometimes paraphrases help us to understand the meaning behind a passage if word for word renderings are vague. Here is Isaiah 29:22-23a in the The Message:
And finally this, GOD’S message for the family of Jacob,
The same GOD who redeemed Abraham:
“No longer will Jacob hang his head in shame,
no longer grow gaunt and pale with waiting.
For he is going to see his children, my personal gift to him – lots of children.
And these children will honor me by living holy lives.
Children are a gift from God! (See also the New English Translation [NET] and the Good News Translation [GNT].)
The passages that indicate children being a blessing from the Lord are too numerous to recount here. See the following: Genesis 22:17-19; 30:1; 33:5; Job 1:2; Ecclesiastes 6:3; and Isaiah 54:1. Moreover, barrenness is always portrayed in a negative way: Numbers 3:4; Job 15;34; 2 Samuel 6:23.
If having many children is God’s will and even God’s command then what ought we to do?
Obviously, if these things are true then this must become our desire and our goal. To that end, single persons should seek marriage.[10] Of course, we ought to choose our husbands and wives wisely. They must be followers of the Lord Jesus and devoted to him. Otherwise, we will be sorely disappointed.
Those who are married must make children their priority. Needless to say, not to the exclusion of the needs of our spouse. I just mean to say that we should get our priorities in line with God’s. When we do, we will discover that not only are children the Lord’s joy (Mal. 2:15,) but they become our joy.
[Relate personal experience.]
We ought not to limit the size of our families unless the wife has medical problems that prohibit having children or pregnancy becomes a life-threatening condition. These situations should be uncommon.
I want to address a common concern, especially among women. Some women, because of exaggerated claims by some that pregnancy in mid-life years is risky either for the mother or the child, become anxious about bearing children in the mid-life years.
Jesus, while encouraging his disciples not to turn back to the world once they have committed to him, says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32) It’s one of the shortest verses in the Bible. (There only two verse shorter than it.)
Regarding having children in one’s older years, I say, “Remember Sarah!” Sarah was 90 years old when she bore Isaac. People lived longer at that time in history, but the Bible still says that she was past child-bearing age. In today’s years she was equivalent to 55 or 60 years of age.
Do you know what group of people tend to have children in their mid-life years? Actors and actresses and those in entertainment. This is because they are so focused on their careers that they put child bearing on the back-burner. Indeed, this is the reason why most people limit their children to just one or two – they want to focus on some other part of their lives rather than being fruitful and multiplying.[11] When these actors and actresses are older their desire for children impels them. Here is a list and their age at the time they had their last child (sometimes only child):
Celine Dion, 42
Uma Thurman, 42
Christine Brinkley, 44
Gwen Stefani, 44
Susan Sarandon, 45
Iman, 45
Geena Davis, 46
Halle Berry, 47
Laura Linney, 49
Janet Jackson, 50
Tony Randall, 76 and 77 (two children)
All their children were healthy.
God has created us for his glory. This is also the reason why we should have children, so that they too can bring glory to God.
What should we do? We ought to allow God’s word to direct our hearts and not the culture, not our own desires. We should not limit the size of our families except for serious medical issues.
What if we are past child-bearing age? Then we can encourage our children to be fruitful. Read the passages to them that we have read this morning.[12]
I have not even considered the great benefit children are to us when we become older. If we have raised them in the ways of the Lord, they become a comfort to us. What a joy to visit our children and grandchildren in our older years!
Meditate yourself on the passages that we have read and see how the Spirit directs you to fulfill your calling as parents!
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Pr 3:5–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 5:17–19). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 128:3–4). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 1:28). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] Yellowstone is 3,472 sq. miles. There are 3,097,600 sq. yards per sq. mile. Thus, there are 10.5 billion sq. yards in Yellowstone.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ge 35:9–11). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[7] the other purpose is for companionship and support (Gen. 2:18).
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mal 2:15). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 127:3–5). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[10] Unless they purpose to serve the Lord in an absolute and unhindered way by remaining single (I Cor. 7:32-35); however, this option should not be implemented if one experiences passion (7:9).
[11] The average number of children in the United States is 1.94. In Europe it is only 1.53.
[12] or, give them a copy of this sermon.
