A good friend commented the other day that he liked what we had been posting, but he felt he needed a challenge.
Well I certainly hope to provide him plenty of challenges in the coming months. In this series the challenge is to believe, see, feel and then act on the truth that children are a blessing.
One tack would have been to declare the Bible’s view that children are a blessing, and then load up the verses one by one and fire them off - a worthwhile task for another day. Instead I have taken the approach of assuming for the time being that most of us believe that children are a blessing, but sometimes find it hard to feel that, or to act on it. I hope that by alerting us to some of the different ways children bless we will see it more, and if we see it more we might then act on it more.
But I don’t want to finish without a challenge, so here is a question:
How do you feel about other people’s children? Do you see them as people worthy of your time, effort, prayers and affection?
5 Comments
Great question, Tim. That’s the litmus test, isn’t it? Other people’s children.
I’ll have a think about it.
Hi Tim. Yep this is a good question. And it needs to be directed in lots of different directions. How we deal with other people’s children individually is also related to how a church responds to children. Are children made to feel welcome? Are they included, not just tacked on? Do people show their love and concern for other people’s children by serving them in various ways? Do we grieve for them when they are wandering away from God? Do we have a burden to see them come to faith in Christ and grow in maturity. Of course, there are variations of the question that go beyond church to community - how much are we concerned for the children in our street, at my kids school etc? Enjoying the blog Tim.
absolutely.
from one who hasn’t yet had the blessing of children.
my wife and i had the opportunity to be hosted by a couple at the crowded house last year in the UK by a family of 5 and learnt stacks… but grew an amazing affection for them.
also more locally (sydney) i feel like i can enjoy relationship with others’ kids in a really positive way, and even contribute to their lives by the gracious willingness of their parents, and pray for them!
Thanks for the comments guys. You’re right Ben, it is a powerful litmus test, and one that as Trevor says, works itself out in lots of areas. Perhaps I’ll try a few posts suggesting some practical ways this kind of thinking might play out in different contexts.
Tim
Oh, and Rowan, I’m delighted to hear that you have in the past and still do enjoy the blessing of other people’s kids.