Children are a Gift but are they a Reward?

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. Psalm 127: 3-5 NLT

I get this psalm. I understand that, in those days, your children were your eternal life. I know that most children did not live until age 12, so the more you had, the more chances of your children living until adulthood. 

But I have also been in a very bad place when I was unable to carry a pregnancy to term. There was no medical reason. Was God punishing me or my husband? We certainly both wallowed in those feelings for a time. We have since been blessed with a child. 

But what about all those good people who don’t have children? 

And what about those crazy people who have a house full of children -- and no business having one? 

God, sometimes life does not seem fair. Do you reward us with children? Are we to be put to shame at the city gates? Is the number of children we have or don’t have to be counted in our favor or not? Help us to find joy in you, not in the number of our progeny. 

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright Amelia G. Sims 2012