Children, Arrows In Our Hands

Rob Whitacre is one of the best young daddies I will ever know.  He is a dear friend, brother and encourager and I want the world to know of his good work especially with the following.  A little lengthy for a blog post, but, then again, it is my blog. :-)  From the hills to the Wildwood and to you, "Children, Arrows In Our Hands."

The Psalmist penned, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 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” (127:3-5). According to Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, heritage means “a possession or inheritance.” Therefore, children are God’s entrusted possessions given as a re-ward for man to guide and to provide him joy and blessedness.

The Psalmist describes children as “arrows in the hand of a mighty man…” Just think for a moment, what would the future of the Kingdom look like if all children from Christian families became faithful Christians? Instead of losing more than half of our children to the world, what if we were able to keep a vast majority? An arrow can be deadly accurate when put into the hands of an archer. Who holds the arrows? The psalmist said, “Happy is the man that has his quiver full…” The Bible teaches us that children are arrows and man is the archer. Where do children go when they are fired by an archer? Wherever the archer aims! What happens if we aim at the Kingdom? They will hit the Kingdom (notwithstanding, the free moral agency of man which at times allows for an errant arrow)! It begs the question if so many children are leaving the church, then where are some aiming their arrows? In this short article let’s examine three vital targets that every parent must aim for as they pull back the bow strings of life.
 
First, and foremost there is the target of Heaven. When an archer misses his target the Greeks would cry out, “hamartia.” This is the word for sin found in the Greek New Testament. Children need to learn about sin from God’s entrusted guardians (parents) and not from a callused and cold world. Studying about sin from the Bible is a godly way of learning about it. Once they understand sin we must help them see Jesus as THEIR Savior who died for THEIR sins. When children understand the consequences of sin we can point them towards the cross of Christ, where they will see the blood of Christ, and therefore want to be baptized into the death of Christ. Beware, a miss of this target area can be deadly to their souls.

Second, there is the target of the Heart. Solomon told his son, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The tenderness of a child is a key to entering the Kingdom (Matthew 18:2-3). We are living in a saturated culture of sin that is bombarding our children with wickedness in every form. We need to aim them away from vulgar music, evil companionships, the lures of lust, and the dangers of atheism/evolution. Fleeing from and not flocking to sin is the Biblical aim. “You have to try it once to know it’s wrong” is a lethal target for the souls of our children. Parents who allow the world to have free and unfettered access into their children’s hearts will be held accountable before God.

Third, there is the target of the Home. We must teach our sons how to become men despite the role reversals and gender confusion of the American society. God wants us to teach our sons how to be sound in faith (Titus 2:2), loving husbands (Ephesians 5:23), strong fathers (Genesis 18:19), dedicated providers (I Timothy 5:8), examples of faith (I Timothy 4:12), servants of the church, teachers of the Gospel (Matthew 28:19), and future leaders in the church. We need to aim our daughters to be teaches of the Gospel (Matthew 28:19), virtuous (Proverbs 31:10), chaste, keepers at home, wives who will love and obey their husbands, and mothers who will love their children (Titus 2:3-5). Pointing our daughters to be career minded first and foremost is not a primary target given by God! If the family God created is going to survive in the way God made it, we must aim our sons and daughters for their targeted roles.

The Psalmist said, “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.” In contrast a child left to himself will bring shame to his mother (Proverbs 29:15). Where are we aiming our children? Academics, athletics, and arts are admirable but Heaven, the home, and the heart are Preeminent. I would rather have a son or daughter who was a sub-par student academically, but a warrior for God’s Kingdom spiritually. Children are precious in the sight of God and can be powerful in the hands of those who aim their arrows at the right targets.

“It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”   ~~Fredrick Douglas~~