Be Fruitful and Multiply
Before you read this post please check out the new You Tube video, Demographics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU Now that you have watched the video don't those statistics astound you? They certainly were shocking to me. Basically couples around the world have been on a steady decline in the numbers of children they are having. Some groups of people, such as Muslims, have done the opposite. I won't restate what the video states so clearly; my point here is just to give encouragement to christian couples that it is a very worthy calling to raise up godly seed to carry Christ's name into future generations. Whether raising one child or ten we should all realize the awesome responsibility we have been entrusted with. These children are the future. The world is quickly changing, and these children need to be equipped to stand boldly for Christ. It is imperative that they be trained to be sharp arrows that we shoot out into the world to make a difference for Christ's kingdom. They won't become equipped, sharp arrows on their own. That is where our parental work and sacrifice come to play.
When you see the statistics as stated in the video it can be disheartening. We can think thoughts such as, "What difference can our little family make?" I believe we can make a huge impact when we are intentional. In the above picture you can see a recent trip our family took to the zoo with Matt's sister and her children along with Matt's brother, his wife and their children. Look at all the children that have been born in the last eight years just from our three families. There were nine children! What if all of those children are faithful to the work of the Lord? Then there will be nine ambassadors for Christ!
Also, Matt and I were thinking about our own family. We have four children. What if all of our children had four children. Then we would have sixteen grandchildren! Those sixteen grandchildren plus our four children would be twenty descendants from Matt and me. Do you see this vision of generational faithfulness I'm talking about?
I fully recognize that God does not call everyone to have large families, however, as a whole I believe our culture has devalued children. Our culture looks at them as burdens rather than blessings. Our culture values luxuries and comforts above the "inconveniences" of children. When we go back to Scripture we are reminded that,
"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are children born in one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. - Psalm 127:3
Matt and I feel blessed to have our four children. More and more I realize that while they are a LOT of hard work they are also my heartbeat, my passion, and my ministry. We thank the Lord that He has given us four arrows to one day shoot out into this world to make a difference for Him. May we be found faithful.
Before you read this post please check out the new You Tube video, Demographics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU Now that you have watched the video don't those statistics astound you? They certainly were shocking to me. Basically couples around the world have been on a steady decline in the numbers of children they are having. Some groups of people, such as Muslims, have done the opposite. I won't restate what the video states so clearly; my point here is just to give encouragement to christian couples that it is a very worthy calling to raise up godly seed to carry Christ's name into future generations. Whether raising one child or ten we should all realize the awesome responsibility we have been entrusted with. These children are the future. The world is quickly changing, and these children need to be equipped to stand boldly for Christ. It is imperative that they be trained to be sharp arrows that we shoot out into the world to make a difference for Christ's kingdom. They won't become equipped, sharp arrows on their own. That is where our parental work and sacrifice come to play.
When you see the statistics as stated in the video it can be disheartening. We can think thoughts such as, "What difference can our little family make?" I believe we can make a huge impact when we are intentional. In the above picture you can see a recent trip our family took to the zoo with Matt's sister and her children along with Matt's brother, his wife and their children. Look at all the children that have been born in the last eight years just from our three families. There were nine children! What if all of those children are faithful to the work of the Lord? Then there will be nine ambassadors for Christ!
Also, Matt and I were thinking about our own family. We have four children. What if all of our children had four children. Then we would have sixteen grandchildren! Those sixteen grandchildren plus our four children would be twenty descendants from Matt and me. Do you see this vision of generational faithfulness I'm talking about?
I fully recognize that God does not call everyone to have large families, however, as a whole I believe our culture has devalued children. Our culture looks at them as burdens rather than blessings. Our culture values luxuries and comforts above the "inconveniences" of children. When we go back to Scripture we are reminded that,
"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are children born in one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. - Psalm 127:3
Matt and I feel blessed to have our four children. More and more I realize that while they are a LOT of hard work they are also my heartbeat, my passion, and my ministry. We thank the Lord that He has given us four arrows to one day shoot out into this world to make a difference for Him. May we be found faithful.
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