I am so excited for the Family Focus Seminar on March 15th. Our guest speaker, Seth York, is going to help us see how the culture impacts our children and how we, as parents, can help to raise our children in the Lord. Seth has a unique perspective as the leader of Crossings Camp Cedarmore. Not only do he and his team lead thousands of students and kids in the camp experience every year, they also get to lead a summer staff of college students (affectionately called yellow shirts). He gets to see firsthand what college students face and what it takes to stay strong in their faith in this crucial season of life. I hope you are planning on attending.
When we set out this year to bring a focus to the family it was for a very particular reason. The family is under attack in our culture. The birthrate in America continues to fall. Christians barely outpace the national average. There are many reasons for this trend. People are waiting longer to get married and longer to have children. They also have far fewer children. I also believe that many Christians lack biblical theology on families. Rarely do Christians think about what the Bible has to say when it comes to having and raising children. When they do it is more a discussion of practicality rather than theology. I want to take a moment and reflect on some passages to help us shape a doctrine on the importance of children.
Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”
This passage is part of the creation covenant that God made with Adam. It is the first instruction or law that God gives Adam. God wanted Adam and Eve to have many children. This command is repeated to Noah and his family in Genesis 9, so they would repopulate the earth. Does this ancient command still hold sway over us today? First, people are created in God’s image which makes them special. Second, God’s word never passes away, however ancient the command. This command is still on us today, especially for those who worship the Lord and view people as image bearers of the Lord.
Psalm 127:3-5, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
This passage reaffirms God’s love for people, especially children. God thinks of them as a blessing, a reward for His faithful people. When the community of believers is full of children it is a sign of blessing. God wants us to have children so they can be raised in the Lord and grow up to be a Christian influence on the world. We know it is important to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18) but it is equally important to disciple our children. Christian parents need to view children as a blessing and see their role as stewards, raising Christians that will impact the world for Him.
Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus reaffirms the importance of children. In ancient times children were not regarded with any significance. This is evidenced by the disciples in this passage as they tried to keep parents from bringing their children to Jesus for a blessing. He rebukes them and tells the parents to bring them to Him. With this simple phrase, Jesus is recognizing that children are created in the image of God and they require a savior. This acknowledges His feeling that children need a relationship with Him. As parents, our job is to guide our children to Jesus but we must first see them as our Savior sees them. We must regard them as fellow image bearers, loved by and important to the Lord.
The Bible clearly affirms that God loves children! Christians should reflect this in how we view children. We should be overjoyed when a new child comes into this world. The church should look to support parents raising both biological and adopted children. The sound of children in a church is a sweet sound to our Lord.
