Raising Children

Children are Always a Blessing
Pages 167-172

God blessed women with the unique ability to bear and nurture children. If you ask almost any mother what is most important in her life, she will tell you, "My children."

Chapter 7 deals with several subtle lies and half-truths about children and parenting that have become widely accepted in our culture. Many Christian women have simply adopted the world's way of thinking without stopping to evaluate how those beliefs line up with God's Word.

The first area where many women have been deceived is the matter of childbearing. The world promotes the idea that children are a burden and that every woman has the right to determine if and when she will have children.

27. The Lie: It's up to us to determine the size of our family.

God's Word teaches, on the other hand, that children are a blessing, a gift from God, and a vital part of His plan for passing the Truth on to the next generation.

The Truth: God is the Creator and Giver of life.

The first two chapters of the Old Testament recount the story of creation in divine detail. It tells us that God Himself is the Creator, Author, and Giver of life. Not surprisingly, as the sworn enemy of God, Satan hates life. He has always sought to destroy it.

He persuaded Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, knowing that if they did, they would die, as God had promised. When Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons, Satan incited the elder of the two to murder his younger brother.

Satan is the thief in John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

The Truth: Anything that hinders or discourages women from fulfilling their God-given calling to be bearers and nurturers of life furthers Satan's schemes and aids his efforts.

Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The Truth: One of the purposes of marriage is to produce a "godly offspring."

Psalm 127:3-4, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.

The Truth: Children are to be received as a blessing from God.

Matthew 18:5, "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me [Jesus]."

A Prayer

Lord thank You for the gift of children. Help me to welcome them even as You do. Show me how to fulfill my calling as a woman - to be a bearer and nurturer of life, whether that means having physical children of my own, or "mothering" spiritual children You entrust to me. Amen.