Children are a Blessing

Psalm 127:3 (ESV)

^“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.”

I want to say that I find all the news this week about abortion to be very, very sad.  Two states have passed and others are considering laws that allow late term abortions – abortions right up to and perhaps even after the moment of birth.  What does it say about a society that can justify the murder of the most vulnerable and defenseless among us?  What does it say about us that in the last 45 years there have been some 61,000,000 abortions?  I feel great sadness over this… over the pressure and stress many are under that would push them to even consider abortion.  Writing this is difficult because I know many, many women suffer through great guilt around this issue.  Abortion must be condemned.  How do you say that and yet at the same time speak a loud word of God’s grace and forgiveness to those struggling with great guilt?  There are just so many who are harmed physically, emotionally and spiritually by our society’s approval and practice of abortions. 

I have been struggling with what to write about in my blog.  So I did what I always do each week in preparation for this blog.  I started searching the Scriptures.  In that process these words from Psalm 127 jumped out at me. 

Psalm 127:3–5 (ESV)

³  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

⁴  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one’s youth.

⁵  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

This reminded me of a speech given by Mother Teresa years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast.  She said many great things in that speech.  One quote echoes this passage from Psalm 127 -  “A child is the greatest gift of love God gives to a family…”  A child is a gift – not an inconvenience… not a thing… not a burden – a gift.    

This has been my experience.  God blessed us with 4 wonderful children – 6 beautiful grandchildren and one more on the way.  Each one is a unique gift.  What about those children born with disabilities?  What about those who are Autistic?   I do not deny that parenting is hard, that parenting in those situations can be extremely frustrating at times.  Yet I know how much my family loved and were blessed by my older sister Roberta.  I have met family after family in these situations who love and see great joy in their children – even should they have different challenges than other children.  One father of a son who was born with Down’s Syndrome put it this way.  “Pastor, when our child was born, someone shared with me this perspective that really helped.  It was like we were expecting to get off the plane in Rome.  Instead, with his bith, we landed in Amsterdam.  After a while, we began to realize that Amsterdam is a pretty cool place too.”  All children are a gift and blessing from the Lord.  I believe that somewhere along the line we have forgotten that.

That’s why I am writing this blog today.  Yes, we need to loudly proclaim that abortion is a horrible sin.  Yes, at times, rare times, it may be a necessary evil chosen to save the life of the mother.  Yes, we should advocate for adoption as an alternative.   There are so many parents who want a child but aren’t able to conceive.  Yes, we need to speak Gospel, not just law, and proclaim God’s forgiveness and grace.  But also yes, we need to live lives and speak words that once again restore to our culture the value of every child.  We need to trumpet the great truth of Psalm 127.  “Children are a heritage from the Lord… blessed is the man (woman, family) whose quiver is full of them.”