Title: For godly children/Psalm 127:3
For godly children/Psalm 127:3
Spiritual children, physical children
How does the Bible define children? Psalm 127 says that children are an inheritance, and the fruit of the womb is his reward, a gift from God.
‘Family problems’ can be called ‘children’s problems’. A child's problem is deeper and more serious than a couple's problem. Couples can divorce, but children are inseparable.
You can approach your child's problems in two ways. One is the physical approach. Matthew 1:1, where the genealogy of Jesus is found, begins with the words, “The world of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham and David.” If you look at this, you can see that Jesus came from the lineage of Abraham.
More important than physical lineage is spiritual lineage. Here we can see that children have physical children and spiritual children. In the Old Testament times, fleshly lineage was considered important. However, when Jesus Christ came, all the blood lineage of the flesh disappeared and only the lineage of the spirit remained.
Genesis has an amazing message about the problem of children. When God created Adam and Eve, He placed humans in the Garden of Eden and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” This means that the Bible took reproduction and reproduction very seriously. In other words, having many children is seen as a blessing. But these days, the emphasis is on 'having one child'. But this is not a biblical principle. Some people say, 'The earth will be destroyed by a large population', but that is not true. We must be faithful to biblical principles. If we do, God will open another way for us.
God’s words to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ were not only spoken in the Garden of Eden. God blessed Noah and his children after the flood and said the same thing.
That principle still applies today. Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. This is an unchanging truth until the coming of the Lord.
Genesis 15:1-5 records the promise of giving descendants to Abraham. Abraham did not forget the promise he made with God, but when that promise did not come true, he was troubled and drowning in doubt.
Knowing this, God called Abraham and confirmed the promise once again. However, Abraham still does not believe and asks questions. And he tells God that he will adopt adoption as a realistic alternative. But God says in verse 4, “He who is born of your own body shall be your heir.”
God had told Abraham, who had no children, that he would give him as many descendants as the stars in the sky, and Abraham believed this. God regarded Abraham's faith as righteousness, and in the end Abraham had a son when he was 100 years old. Believe the Bible. A child was born to Abraham, a 100-year-old man, and Sarah, who had lost sight of his sire. This is true. There is nothing impossible with God. God can do things that science cannot explain. God can do the impossible.
The children of the world include the children of the promise and the children of the flesh. All people in the world are children of the flesh. The lineage continues from grandfather to father to son. It is because of these children of the flesh that we are troubled and afflicted.
But the Bible tells us about the children of the spirit, the children of the promise. Isaac is a child born of God's promise. This child is a child of blessing. In the Old Testament, it was important to be a descendant of Abraham or David, but in the New Testament, it is important to believe in Jesus Christ.
He gave the blessing of becoming the children of the promise to those who believe. Therefore, we have the right to ask for God's blessing. Because we are the heirs of God who can inherit.
children raised by the law
Where do the blessings of the promised children come from? I want to share those three. First, the ‘child of the promise’ is the son of the law. It means ‘children of the Word’. Therefore, when your children are nurtured by the Word, they are blessed.
What is the difference between a worldly person and a child of God? What is the difference between Jew and Gentile? What is the difference between the elect and the unchosen? It is the 'word'. The people who have received the word of God are the chosen people, children, and heirs, but those who have not received the word of God are only Gentiles.
Jews thoroughly educate their children in the law. And at the age of 13, they have a coming-of-age ceremony called “mitsuba. ‘Ba’ means son and ‘mitsu’ means law.
In this coming-of-age ceremony, the father passes the scroll of the law passed down from his father to his son. And now teach them to live on their own as they have been taught. Such education is the secret that Jews, who had been prosperous for thousands of years without a country, developed their strength and survived in other countries.
Today, we are in the age of breaking away from the law and becoming children of God in the name of Jesus Christ. The time of grace has come. However, the need to nurture our children with the word of God is the same as it was before and now. But take a look at the circumstances of our children. Our young children grow up being too close to the television from an early age. Immerse yourself in computer games and worldly music.
We only entrust our children to schooling. Even if we learn evolutionary theory and teach worldly philosophies and values, we don't care. I just want my children to get first place.
Even church-going parents send their children to church. There is no real interest in the souls of those children. They spend a precious childhood without realizing the importance of nurturing the souls of children who do not yet have a proper sense of common sense and reason. The education of Jews living in the world is wisdom education.
They teach wisdom, teach them about their profession, and teach them to work thoroughly. They also thoroughly teach the Ten Commandments. I believe that the restoration and principle of the education of children today is in the Ten Commandments. By educating the Ten Commandments, we can overcome the generation gap. There is no new generation for God's children. There is only God's generation. ‘Honor your father and mother’ in the Ten Commandments means ‘filial piety’. It is taught to ‘love your enemies’ to ‘do not kill’. It is a chastity education that says, ‘You shall not commit adultery. ‘Do not steal’ is an honest education. All the principles of education, such as 'Thou shalt not lie' and 'Do not covet', are contained in the Ten Commandments.
This is eternal regardless of East and West. This education will make your children a blessed child of God.
Raise children who obey their parents
Second, in any case, we must make children who are filial to their parents. This is the first commandment with promise. Filial piety education is not Confucian education. Biblical education. Look at Proverbs 4:1-5. Solomon did not forget to teach his son. Solomon's wisdom came from his father David.
What did you learn from your father? What are your children learning from you? Look at Ephesians 6:1 3. God gave two stone tablets. These are the stone tablets with the commandments about God and the stone tablets with the commandments about humans. Five commandments are written on each stone tablet.
The surprising fact is that out of the Ten Commandments, there are four commandments about God and six about humans. Here we have to consider that one of the commandments for man is written together on a stone tablet with the commandment for God. That is the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and mother.”
This commandment is both a commandment for God and a commandment for man. Honoring God and honoring parents are in a straight line. Those who do not honor their parents cannot honor God.
Parents are responsible for making sure your children honor their parents. It is not honorable to do something forced, obligatory, or scolded. Respect is what you do voluntarily and out of love for your parents. Parents are responsible for making this happen. I was surprised to see the words in Exodus 21 and Leviticus 20. “Anyone who curses his father or his mother must be put to death.” Leviticus also says that anyone who curses a mother or father not only kills them, but their blood goes back to their children. Those who disobey their parents and disobey their parents will have their blood returned to them.
Even socially successful children are a failure if they cannot produce children who can be filial to their parents. But even if your children are not famous in the world, if they know how to honor their parents, they will be successful. As I was reading the Bible, I discovered a surprising fact. A parent's mistake is that whatever it is, it has to be covered. This is what your child will do.
Look at Noah in Genesis. After the flood, Noah was drunk with wine and fell asleep naked. Ham, who witnessed this, went on to tell the two brothers, Shem and Japheth, about the appearance of his father. At this time, Shem and Japheth stepped back and covered their father's shame. After that, Ham was cursed by Noah, and Shem and Japheth were blessed.
Children should honor their parents. Not because parents deserve respect, but because the very existence of parents is a being of authority. Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you will be able to do the following three things to your parents.
First, be a child who prays for your parents. Second, be a child who meets your needs. Third, cover the past faults of your parents. Such children will become children of blessing.
Finally, the children who receive the father's blessing are blessed. The greatest privilege a father has is the right to bless. The father is the priest of the household. A child who does not receive the father's blessing will not prosper. This is the secret to being a glorious child. Please read Numbers 6:22-27 to your children. And teach this to your children. If you bless your children according to these words, blessings will come to them.
Everyone, be a blessing father. Be a loving mother. Do not give up the blessings of nurturing and admonishing your children in the Lord.