Children

Posted on by korgrocker

“Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3

Solomon continues with his thoughts in Psalm 127. He now muses over the blessings of having children, calling them a reward from the Lord. At first glance, we might take this as read, not digging too deeply into what it actually means. I suppose in those days with no welfare state, a house full of sons and daughters would be a blessing. As well as supporting the family, sons were useful for protection and security, particularly in their parent’s older years. But can they fall into the category of being a “gift” and a “reward” from the Lord? And what about in society today, in an overpopulated world?

There can never be a negative answer to that question. My own two children have been a source of many blessings. Those early years were a constant stream of good experiences as we grew up together as a family, ever closer, always learning. And as the years have rolled by, we have laughed together but also on occasion cried together, united as a family in the way God intended. 

But sadly, in recent years, Western nations have increasingly become engaged in the practice of infanticide. Call it abortion if you prefer. To me, the Biblical position is clear – life starts at the moment of conception. But we must never get caught up in a judgemental way; God loves each and every person caught up in their individual tragedies, and it is our duty to dispense His love and grace whenever we can. Bringing light and love into traumatised people’s lives.

We also need to pray for those desperately sad people who want to bring children into this world, but are unable to do so for some physiological reason. Good parents, devastated that they cannot fulfil their potential. And we also need to pray for the parents who lack the skills to bring up children, perhaps because they were badly parented themselves. And we have another societal problem with single parent families, where one of the parents has moved on, leaving a torn family and traumatised partner. We pray. O Lord, how we must pray.

Father God, today we thank You for the gift of children to those of us who are parents. And we pray for those of us who one day will be parents, or want to be parents, that you will reward them also. Help those people, Father, who are struggling in their parenting. We pray for those people who are single or unable to be parents, Father. We ask that You become their parent, enfolding them with Your presence and love, leading them to families as it says in Your Word. We pray this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Hard Work and Worry

Posted on by korgrocker

“It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Psalm 127:2 NLT

Another gem from Solomon’s pen. Our capitalistic and materialistic society is based to a large extent on greed, because we are encouraged by our “work ethic” to get better paid jobs, or work longer hours. And by so doing we end up earning more money which we can then spend on more “stuff”. A cynical point of view? Perhaps. But Solomon was pointing out that we sometimes get our priorities wrong, becoming driven by anxiety, just to obtain food to eat. His was a different, poorer, society of course, and food was a basic commodity often in short supply. But we so often, in these modern and enlightened days, hassle along, driven by our own efforts, instead of realigning our priorities to God’s ways. 

Jesus picked up this theme in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” On my early morning prayer walk today, just as it was getting light, hundreds of geese flew overhead, silhouetted and just visible against the greyness of an overcast sky. The ragged V’s, the honking and squeaking. A corporate outing of beautiful birds heading for their next feeding grounds. Jesus was right – their Heavenly Father created them to heed His voice about the supply of food. And Jesus brought into His teaching the concept that we have our priorities all wrong. Instead of pursuing the business of our amazing Creator God, enjoying the abundant life that He has provided for us, we worry and hassle after more mundane things, like what we will eat or what we will wear. Jesus said we are “far more valuable” to God than birds so why do we worry? 

God has promised us rest. Hebrews 4 starts, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.” But what is the rest Solomon mentioned, and the writer of the Hebrews epistle alludes to? The rest promised by God to Christians is in two parts – the peace of our relation with God in this life, and eternal life with Him in the life to come. So when we worry we are effectively preferring to trust our own efforts, thereby rejecting God’s offer of rest. 

So we work hard at the tasks God has given us – no place for laziness in His Kingdom – but within the context of experiencing His rest at the same time. Our priorities are clear. And peace descends, flushing away the cares of life.

Building

Posted on by korgrocker

“Unless the Lord builds a house, 
the work of the builders is wasted. 
Unless the Lord protects a city, 
guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Psalms‬ ‭127:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What are we building? Not many of us, if any, will be building a physical house with bricks and mortar, but we will be building something. Perhaps we are building a new life somewhere. Building a marriage. Building a family. A Pastor building a church. Building a career. The list is endless. But whatever it is, it is always good to hit the pause button and consider the question, “What am I building?” Coupled with this question is the thought, “What am I building on?” Foundations are key to a building’s longevity. 

Solomon, the Psalmist, was well equipped to talk about building something. He was a very successful King in Israel, David. So his advice to involve the Lord in the building process was valuable and appropriate.  Jesus taught about building in the parable about the wise and foolish builder. One built on a foundation of sand; the other on a foundation of rock. The wise man built on the words and principles taught by Jesus. But the foolish man didn’t. We can’t build anything that will last unless we involve God and His principles right at the start when we choose a foundation. And as the building develops, we involve God in that process, step by step. 

Sadly, as we look back over our lives, I suspect that many of us have started building something without God’s input. And perhaps ended up with a “folly” (the dictionary defines this as “a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park”). Or we have ended up with a monster beyond our control. Or even an entity that soon disappears like a puff of smoke. But it’s never too late to get our building process, and what we are building, back on track. Sometimes we will have to start again. At other times God will show us a better way. Perhaps there is relevance in the advice given in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” But whatever happens, we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares for us – He won’t abandon us to the folly of our ways if we reach out to Him and His grace.