Daily Devotion for July 20, 2006

Children of God

 

"He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth . . . Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God." Luke 1:14; 16

 

When the birth of John the Baptist was foretold to his father Zechariah, the angel Gabriel told him what a joy the child would be to him - not because he was being blessed with a child after a lifetime of childlessness, but because the child would be a blessing in God's sight. Indeed, the child was to be "great in the sight of the Lord." Barrenness was considered a curse from God in the Jewish culture, and Elizabeth and Zechariah had probably prayed most of their lives for a child. Indeed, Gabriel acknowledges that their prayers had been heard - but the reason for joy, according to Gabriel, was not simply having a child, but having a child that was to be "filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth." It qualified John as a prophet in those days, before the Holy Spirit was made accessible to all believers.

 

 Our charge as parents isn't to simply enjoy the great blessing to us that our children are, but to responsibly mold them and raise them up as powerful workers for the Lord. There are several examples of such parenting cited in the scriptures. Samson, born of another previously barren woman, was dedicated to the Lord in the Nazirite tradition. He began the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines, and his death was used to demonstrate the one and true Lord Almighty. Hannah, also childless, had the desire of her heart answered and gave the child up to the Lord's service when he was three. She saw him only on a yearly basis after that, but that boy grew to be the first of a new era of prophets of the Lord, and presided over the transition of Israel from an affiliation of tribes to a centrally governed nation. The prophet Samuel also anointed and mentored Israel's king, King David, setting the stage for the Son of David, Jesus.

 

 When we raise up our children to be a light in this world and to be disciples of Christ, we are not equipping them for an easy life from the secular perspective. John the Baptist lived in the desert, and was imprisoned and eventually executed for his stand for God's truth. Jesus told his disciples that the world would hate them, and indeed advised them to "...not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Most of us will never be persecuted to this extent, but it is critical that we raise up our children with the one true love, so that they are prepared to love and lean on the Lord in difficult times, and in the end be found faithful.

 

Prayer
Lord, you have given us a divine task in raising up our children to be passionate believers. Help us to always remember that you have not ‘given us children,' but have blessed us with an opportunity and a responsibility. Give us your wisdom as we mold these children of God.  And Lord, if we have no children, there are others in our life that you have put in our path so that we can share you with them.  Help us to be faithful in this.  Amen

 

---

Did someone send you this Devotion? Would you like to receive future ones directly? Click here to subscribe.

Want to learn more about the Bible Jesus used – The Old Testament – and the Bible Jesus taught?  Enroll today in Word Among Us – Cover to Cover study of the Bible starting in Genesis and going through Revelation including the inter - testamental period, using history and archeology and Biblical culture to make the text alive - taught by Tim Hetzner.
Class sites are across the USA. Click here for more information.

Tim Hetzner - President - Lutheran Church Charities
		333 W. Lake Street, Addison, Illinois 60101
		(866) 455-6466 • Fax: (866) 451-1476
		Web Site: lcc.LutheranChurchCharities.org
		E-Mail: TimHetzner@LutheranChurchCharities.org
At the end of the day. . . Making A Difference In People's Lives and In God's Kingdom