Those Kids Are Not Yours

Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.

Psalm 127:4

FROM THE MOMENT they enter the world, our children are slowly walking away from our care. Those tiny, vulnerable, dependent babies will one day walk down the graduation aisle and into a life of their own. Parents know this, yet there is an innate desire to hang on to our kids, to wrap our arms so tightly around them that, if we’re not careful, we can inadvertently end up choking their spiritual lives.

The Bible tells us that our children are not really our own. Sure, they are our flesh and blood, but they are God’s children before they are our children. Parenting is not possession but stewardship. For a time, a long season, children are in our care, and we are tasked with the job of providing for them, teaching them, and then releasing them into the world as children of God and ambassadors for Christ and His Kingdom.

The psalmist describes children as “arrows in a warrior’s hands.” They are meant to be released with power toward a target. This means parents should raise their children with an eye toward God’s purpose for them in Christ. Our duty is not to press them into the molds we design, and it’s certainly not to help them achieve worldly success; it is to allow the Holy Spirit to shape them for their unique mission in the world. In parenting, as in all things, we must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

BOTTOM LINE

Our children are not our possessions to hoard, but God’s good gifts to steward.

Moment of Strength: Psalm 127:3-5