First, scripture teaches that children are blessed gifts from God. God designed them as a blessing, as a source of joy. They come from God to grace our lives with fulfillment, meaning, happiness and satisfaction. Parenthood is God's gift to us.
This is true even in a fallen world, infected with the curse of sin. In the midst of evil, children are tokens of God's lovingkindness. They are living proof that God's mercy extends even to fallen sinful creatures.
Remember that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit before they had conceived any offspring. Yet God did not simply destroy them and start over a new race. Instead, he permitted Adam and Eve to fulfill the command given them before the Fall: Be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28). Through that, He set in motion a plan of redemption that would ultimately embrace untold numbers of Adam's offspring (Rev 7:9-10). The children Eve bore therefore embodied the hope that fallen sinners could be redeemed.
And when God cursed the earth because of Adam's sin, He multiplied the pain of the childbirth process, but he did not nullify the blessing inherent in bearing children.
Eve recognized this. Gen 4:1 says "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain and said, 'I have acquired a man from the Lord.'" She clearly recognized that the Lord was the source of this child. She regarded the child as a gift from the hand of the One whom she had sinned against, and she was overjoyed by it. Despite the pain of childbirth, and irrespective of the fallenness of the child himself, she knew that the child was an emblem of God's grace to her.
In verse 25 we read, "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, 'For God has appointed another seed for me.'" Children, Eve knew, are blessed gifts from God.
What of the children of unbelievers? They represent divine blessings too. In Gen 17:20, God promised to bless Ishmael. How would He bless him? By multiplying his children and descendants. He told Abraham, "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly."
Also, in the contest between Leah and Rachel for Jacob's affection, Gen 29:31-33 says, "When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me." Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am not loved, He has therefore given me this son also."
The Lord's compassion for Leah was manifested by His enabling her to bear children.
God blessed Rachel with children too and she praised Him for His goodness. "And she conceived and bore a son and said, 'God has taken away my reproach'". Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and her midwife offered these words of dying comfort: "Do not fear; you will have this son also." (Gen 35:17)
Throughout this tale of the parents who gave birth to the various tribes of God's chosen people, one thing is clear. All parties understood that children signified the blessings of the Lord.
By God's gracious design, children are given to bring parents joy, happiness, contentment, satisfaction, and love. Psalm 127:3-5 says so expressly: "
3 Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
Clearly, in the plan of God, children are meant to be a blessing, not a hardship. And they usually are a blessing when they arrive. But left exposed to this world and unshaded by the proper kind of protection, they will indeed break your heart. That leads to the second foundational principle... to be continued...
From: Macarthur, What the Bible Says About Parenting, p13-16
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