The Marriage Series 13

Hello wonderful people of God, I thank God for another blessed opportunity to share the word of God with us on the issue of marriage. It is always a very good feeling to share the word of God here. In my last post I promised to write on the issue of Marriage and Children and by the special grace of God, that is exactly what I am going to do.

Psalm 127:3-5

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate. 

The very first thing we need to understand and appreciate is that having children is a gift from God and a reward from Him. I know a handful of friends in my life whose number one prayer point in their lives is to be able to bear children. For those in this category of people who are looking up to God for the fruit of the womb, note that children are a reward from the Lord and He gives His gifts in ways and manners which only Him determines and we cannot question God’s judgment or decision. Roman 9:14-16 reads, “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ It does not therefore depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” But if children are a reward from God and its comes with His mercy and compassion, then the one important thing we need to understand is that there is something we need to do to earn us this reward from God.

Those who do special things will naturally earn special rewards. When you are believing God for the gift of a child, don’t just trust God for any child, trust Him for a special child. If you then want a special child from God, and we know that children are a reward from God, then we need to do something special to earn a special reward from Him.  

Luke 1:5-7, 13-15

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zachariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well on in years.   

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zachariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

This story gives a better illustration of what I am trying to get across to those waiting on God for the gift of a child. Elizabeth and her husband were upright in the sight of God, observing the Lord’s commandments and instructions blamelessly despite their barrenness and the fact that they were well advanced in years. But who else ought to be anxious and grumble at God if not Elizabeth and Zachariah; but rather than grumble, they continued steadfastly in the Lord as though they had no issues in life. Yet they had no children.

But when the God who rewards diligence and steadfast upright living was ready to give His reward to Elizabeth, He gave her no ordinary child. Rather the Lord rewarded Elizabeth with John the Baptist who the Bible says was great in the sight of the Lord. This explains why you need to do great things for God in order to get great reward from Him. When you seek a special child then do special things in the sight of God that will move Him to reward you specially. Remember children are reward from the Lord.

One of the big reasons why God instituted marriage is because He seeks godly offspring from the union. Malachi 2:15 says, “Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring.” If the Lord has blessed your marriage union with the gifts of children, these gifts comes with huge responsibilities, and that responsibility is to ensure that these children who are gifts to us are raised in the godly ways so they grow to be the godly offspring the Lord seeks from our union.

All those who are called by the name of the Lord are expected to know the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Even the Christians by name can recite the Lord’s prayer even when woken up from sleep, but if we bother much about the Lord’s prayer is a questions each individual needs to answer personally. Matthew 6:10 reads, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The answer to this prayer we recite every day and in fact every time is in the godly offspring that our marriage union produces for the Lord. So if we do not see God’s kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it’s because we have not produced godly offspring for God to work with.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,” and Ephesians 6:4 reads, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” If you really desire the manifestation of the Lord’s prayer in that you want God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and you are tired of the moral decay in our world today; if you are tired of the society you live in and you desire a positive change in your society, then you need to begin with producing for God the godly offspring that He seeks. When we have a large population of married couples producing for God the godly offspring that He seeks then we are inviting the presence of God into our society and working towards a healthy community.

In my last post I discussed the issue of input in marriage as a determinant of the output of that marriage. That same principle applies to raising your children as a product of your marriage. The training you give your children determines the character they grow up with. The Bible says train your child in the way he should go and when he grows he will not turn from it. What do you expect of your child when he/she grows up? Whatever you want them to grow up into depends on what values you put in them when they are young. May the Lord bless our efforts in Jesus name.