“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalms 127:3
Merriam-Webster defines heritage as: “property that descends to an heir” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heritage
Thus, our children are the property of God, and by virtue of our heirship, they have been entrusted to us by God. I know this is common knowledge, but isn’t it neat to reflect on a most precious heirloom and how we care for it and preserve it. Let us care and preserve our children from the corruption of Satan and the world.
“The fruit of the womb is his reward.” Something very important to note here, is that there are many kinds and types of rewards that God gives to his children. Children, happen to be one of those rewards that God gives to his children, and interestingly, on His timetable. It really comes down to our heart and the intentions of our heart. If we desire children, and are not blessed with children in this life or are not blessed with the size of family that we would love to have, let us “dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng).
Many rewards, are not and will not be given in this life, but we must qualify for them in this life. Until that blessed day, find peace in the statement of the prophet Joseph Smith, “All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue faithful. By the vision of the Almighty I have seen it.”
127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
127:5 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.
We live in a day and age that children bearing is becoming less and less popular. Joseph Smith prophesied, “the time would come when none but the women of the Latter-day Saints would be willing to bear children” (Lillie Freeze, “Remarks at the Y. L. M. I. Conference of Box Elder Stake,” Young Woman’s Journal 2, no. 2 (November 1890): 81. http://ldsmag.com/article-1-12188/).
This is where the next verse in Psalms comes into play, which happens to be the first verse of the next chapter. This whole chapter is so good and focuses on having children also. Go read it too.
128:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
Do we fear man or God. A different question to ask ourselves is, what do we fear more than God? Is it a good night’s rest, our comfortable life, nice clothes, bigger house, finishing college, and the list goes on and on. There will always be a plethora of “good” reasons not to have children, but it comes down to, are we fearing God or man.
One more angle, looking at “fear” as total respect and awe for God. To fear God takes on a whole new meaning. What if you your greatest mentor, teacher, or role model, decided to give you their most prized possession, which value can’t even be calculated. All you had to do was simply take care of it and protect it. We would all jump on such an opportunity. Well, guess what, the greatest of all, even God the Father, has given us his most prized possession and all we have to do is take care of it and protect it.
I for one, am up to the task, are you?
Craig
Recent Comments