Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Ah Friends, yesterday I gave my two cents worth on the state of our children. Today I want to show that indeed ‘children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.’ Just consider the numerous persons who badly desire children, but, for one reason or another, can’t have them in the normal manner. They resort to all sorts of ploys, legal and illegal to get them; by adoption, by using fertility clinics, surrogate mothers, and even stealing them. Now if we go to such devious and diverse lengths to get them, then children must be rather important to our society. And many unions have fallen apart because they were unable to reproduce. Unlike Jacob, for when he went to be reconciled with his brother Esau, he took along his whole family, and after they had hugged and kissed and wept, Esau ‘lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he (Jacob) said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.’ (Gen.33:5) Jacob considered himself lucky because God had blessed him with several children. He eventually sired twelve sons, not to mention daughters. Oh Friends, in olden times children were indeed considered a blessing from God. If you were barren, then it was assumed that you weren’t right with the Father. Just like Job was considered unrighteous because of his massive disaster. But note how the Lord blessed all those who found favour in his sight, including, or especially Abraham and Sarah, although they were well into old age before it happened. At 86, Abraham’s wife’s maid, Hagar bore him Ishmael, because they figured that was the only way for them to get an heir at that late stage of their lives. But at 99, the Lord made a covenant with him, promising to multiply him exceedingly if he obeyed His dictates. (Gen.17:1-2) He even changed his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning multitude of nations; ‘for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.’ (Gen.17:5-6) Now logically speaking, that appears very dubious at age 99 and with only one illegitimate child. And Abraham was doubtful, especially after the Lord told him to change Sarai’s name to Sarah (Princess). ‘And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?’ (Gen.17:16-17) And Abraham prayed that Ishmael would grow up before the Lord. But though the Lord promised to make Ishmael great, He was adamant that Sarah should bear a son called Isaac, and ‘my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear thee at this set time in the next year. (Gen.17:21) The Lord even established a time for it to happen. But just like Abraham, after three angels visited them and again promised Sarah a son, ‘Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ (Gen.18:12) They doubted because they thought like men, lacking the perspicacity to see the bigger picture through the eyes of God. But we all know what happened. As Joshua said of the Lord in his final address to Israel: ‘And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood (the Euphrates river), and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau…’ (Josh.24:3-4) Yes Friends, from that one faithful promise of our omnipotent God to an old man and his aged wife, millions were raised starting with Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham’s children were indeed his godly heritage. And so should ours be to us, if we raise them right. We must understand Friends that having children is a very serious responsibility, one not to be taken lightly, as many of us are wont to do. The Lord blesses us with them for a good reason; they are our reward, and He expects us to do right by them, so that they can continue what we began; serving and glorifying Him. That’s what each generation is called on to do. When Moses spoke to the people, re blessings, He said of the Lord: ‘And he will LOVE thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee…’ (Deut.7:13) And later on he gushed: ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body…’ (Deut.(28:4) So Friends, it is indeed a blessing to have children; it’s part of our reward from God. The Psalmist agreed. ‘He maketh (causes) the barren (childless) woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.113:9) My people, children aren’t revered today as in olden times, neither is being barren considered a curse as back then. But children are still very important to a society; to keep alive its traditions and mores, to retain the heritage of their ancestors and build better on it. Cousin Sol knew this when he declared that; ‘Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.’ (Prov.17:6) Friends, do our children consider us their glory? I certainly hope so, else we’ve not set a proper example for them to be proud of. We’ll end though on a positive, promising note, by quoting the last two verses of the Psalm. ‘As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man (warrior); so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.’ (Ps.127:4-5) Now those are two practical purposes for having children; they bring us joy and also protect us…if we raise them right. Friends, our children will always be our children, and we have a serious responsibility to always look out for them, even when they’re old and grey. So please, let’s take it seriously nuh, and DON’T EVER GIVE UP on the fruit of the womb that our God has blessed us with, for they are truly our heritage. Much LOVE!…once a parent…always a parent…
Ah Friends, yesterday I gave my two cents worth on the state of our children. Today I want to show that indeed ‘children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.’ Just consider the numerous persons who badly desire children, but, for one reason or another, can’t have them in the normal manner. They resort to all sorts of ploys, legal and illegal to get them; by adoption, by using fertility clinics, surrogate mothers, and even stealing them. Now if we go to such devious and diverse lengths to get them, then children must be rather important to our society. And many unions have fallen apart because they were unable to reproduce. Unlike Jacob, for when he went to be reconciled with his brother Esau, he took along his whole family, and after they had hugged and kissed and wept, Esau ‘lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he (Jacob) said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.’ (Gen.33:5) Jacob considered himself lucky because God had blessed him with several children. He eventually sired twelve sons, not to mention daughters. Oh Friends, in olden times children were indeed considered a blessing from God. If you were barren, then it was assumed that you weren’t right with the Father. Just like Job was considered unrighteous because of his massive disaster. But note how the Lord blessed all those who found favour in his sight, including, or especially Abraham and Sarah, although they were well into old age before it happened. At 86, Abraham’s wife’s maid, Hagar bore him Ishmael, because they figured that was the only way for them to get an heir at that late stage of their lives. But at 99, the Lord made a covenant with him, promising to multiply him exceedingly if he obeyed His dictates. (Gen.17:1-2) He even changed his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning multitude of nations; ‘for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.’ (Gen.17:5-6) Now logically speaking, that appears very dubious at age 99 and with only one illegitimate child. And Abraham was doubtful, especially after the Lord told him to change Sarai’s name to Sarah (Princess). ‘And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?’ (Gen.17:16-17) And Abraham prayed that Ishmael would grow up before the Lord. But though the Lord promised to make Ishmael great, He was adamant that Sarah should bear a son called Isaac, and ‘my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear thee at this set time in the next year. (Gen.17:21) The Lord even established a time for it to happen. But just like Abraham, after three angels visited them and again promised Sarah a son, ‘Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ (Gen.18:12) They doubted because they thought like men, lacking the perspicacity to see the bigger picture through the eyes of God. But we all know what happened. As Joshua said of the Lord in his final address to Israel: ‘And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood (the Euphrates river), and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau…’ (Josh.24:3-4) Yes Friends, from that one faithful promise of our omnipotent God to an old man and his aged wife, millions were raised starting with Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham’s children were indeed his godly heritage. And so should ours be to us, if we raise them right. We must understand Friends that having children is a very serious responsibility, one not to be taken lightly, as many of us are wont to do. The Lord blesses us with them for a good reason; they are our reward, and He expects us to do right by them, so that they can continue what we began; serving and glorifying Him. That’s what each generation is called on to do. When Moses spoke to the people, re blessings, He said of the Lord: ‘And he will LOVE thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee…’ (Deut.7:13) And later on he gushed: ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body…’ (Deut.(28:4) So Friends, it is indeed a blessing to have children; it’s part of our reward from God. The Psalmist agreed. ‘He maketh (causes) the barren (childless) woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.113:9) My people, children aren’t revered today as in olden times, neither is being barren considered a curse as back then. But children are still very important to a society; to keep alive its traditions and mores, to retain the heritage of their ancestors and build better on it. Cousin Sol knew this when he declared that; ‘Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.’ (Prov.17:6) Friends, do our children consider us their glory? I certainly hope so, else we’ve not set a proper example for them to be proud of. We’ll end though on a positive, promising note, by quoting the last two verses of the Psalm. ‘As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man (warrior); so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.’ (Ps.127:4-5) Now those are two practical purposes for having children; they bring us joy and also protect us…if we raise them right. Friends, our children will always be our children, and we have a serious responsibility to always look out for them, even when they’re old and grey. So please, let’s take it seriously nuh, and DON’T EVER GIVE UP on the fruit of the womb that our God has blessed us with, for they are truly our heritage. Much LOVE!…once a parent…always a parent…
SCRIP-BITS 