A Blessing or a Curse?

    If "birth control" were practiced in the past like it is today, would our world look different?  How would it be different?  Who wouldn't be here?  Rick and Jan Hess the authors of "A Full Quiver" write about this subject.  They invite us to imagine hosting a dinner party for famous and influential people of the past, but the catch is that they have to be only the first, second or third born.  Who wouldn't be invited to the party?  These are a few highlights from the list:  King David, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, George Washington, Jonathan Edwards, David Livingston, Dwight L. Moody, Nate Saint, Corrie ten Boom and Susanna Wesley and her sons John and Charles.  It is interesting to note that Susanna was baby #24 and John and Charles were #15 and #17!
    Clearly these people would be acclaimed as some of the most influential people of all time.  Their lives continue to bless us even today. But today, sadly, many believe that people are not a blessing but a curse.  Countries in our world outlaw children, Population Control would have us believe that children are a poison to our earth, and the Humanists of our country have indoctrinated us against having large families.  These are largely the views of people who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  But are the views really any different within the Body of Christ?
    All throughout scripture it is evident that God considers children a blessing.
*"God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number...' " Gen. 1:28
*"God blessed Noah and his sons saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number...' " Gen. 9:1
*"I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her..." Gen.17:16
*"So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous" Ex.1:20
* A blessing was spoken over Ruth's child - the grandfather of David.  Ruth 4:11-22
*"Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, May the Lord give you children...And the Lord was gracious to Hannah and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters." 1Sam.2:20-21
*Elizabeth was blessed to have a baby. see Luke 1
*"Blessed are you [Mary] among women and blessed is the Child you will bear!" Luke1:42
*"And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them." Mk. 10:16
*Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Ps. 128:3-5 
    Do we really believe that people are a blessing?  Many would say that 1-3 is a blessing (given the right spacing) but beyond that babies can be a burden.  They are hard to manage, hard to provide for, and hard to raise.  We say that babies are a blessing and no one rejects the blessing of the baby they hold but to have any more - that would be a burden. 
    Think of it this way, let's say that your boss offered you a raise for your hard work.  Would you consider that money a blessing?  Most would accept it and say that God blessed them with more money.  But if God were to offer you the blessing of more children, would you accept them or would you say, "Thank you very much but I have enough blessings right now." 
    Maybe your heart does love children and truly does consider them a blessing.  But maybe you have gone through terrible circumstances and have made birth control decisions based on those times.  I don't have all the answers, but God does.  Could God redeem your situation and give you beauty for ashes?  Do not fear, God says, He will never leave you or forsake you.  God only wants the best for us and that is my heart for you my friend, that you would know and experience the blessing of God. 

Disclaimer

    Writing a blog is difficult in some respects.  Tone, emotion and intent are often hard to detect or judge correctly.  We want each person who reads Our Heart to know that no post is written to any one specific person, or in response to any one particular conversation.  Over the past 20 years I (Connie) and more recently Scott have been meditating on and researching this topic.  Recently, we have felt extremely burdened and called to share what we have learned.  As we share from God's word our goal is to challenge the reader to investigate what the Bible teaches concerning family "planning."  Our desire is that we might challenge people to think deeper than the surface level and go to the root of what they believe and why they believe it.  Then, hopefully, all of us will prayerfully evaluate whether or not our actions concerning this or any other topic line up with our beliefs. 
     Above all, we want each reader to know that we love him or her deeply no matter what decisions are made or have been made.  Our prayer is just that we would each be open to seeking and submitting to Him, His Word and His Heart.       

Why Children?

It has been said that the only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.  It is obvious to see that in our world evil is succeeding, so where are the good men?  Are we to blame?  Where are our children - children of the people of God?  Have we rejected them before they were even conceived?    

Is God really looking for a “few good men?”  Is this why God wants us to have children?  The answer may surprise you.  Not only has God commanded us to fill the earth with children but He has also told us why.    Malachi 2:15 states the reason, “Has not the Lord made them [husband and wife] one?  In flesh and spirit they are His.  And why one?  Because He was seeking godly offspring.”

 Acts 17:26 says,” From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”   Again we see that God makes the person and specifically orchestrates the time and the place for him. But why does He do this?  Verse 27 explains, “God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

God also gives us another reason for having children.  We are in a spiritual battle and God’s children are a “weapon” or a defense against the Evil One.  Jesus said that He came that we might have life and might have it abundantly, but Satan’s goal is to kill, steal, and destroy.  Though we often think about these concepts in the spiritual realm, they are useless if there is no physical life.  That is why Satan does seek to physically kill people (whether it be cutting them off before they are conceived or sometime afterward) – to put an end to God’s kingdom.  Ephesians tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground.”

 Many of us are familiar with the armor of God described in Ephesians 6, but are we familiar with this part of our defense?  Psalms 127:3-5 shows us another piece of our defense, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.  They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.” 

Imagine the impact of a godly family designed by God.  Imagine the impact of many children growing up to love and serve the Lord.  How might our community, state, country or even the world look if we allowed God to bless us the children He wants?  How much ground would we be able to recover from the enemy with our troops enlarged?

We are in a battle, according to Ephesians 6.  God does say that in the end times the world will become more and more wicked.  But we are not to stop fighting the good fight.  We are not to stop evangelizing.  We are not to stop procreating.  If, for a time, evil does succeed let it not be because we were negligent.  God has won the victory and will come back as conqueror.  Therefore let us run the race set before us; let us not shrink back.  Let us wholeheartedly commit to following the Lord, trusting in Him and changing our heart to match His.

"To Be or Not to Be"

    "To be or not to be that is the question."  To be born or not to be born?  Who has the power?  Who has the control?  Psalms 100:3 states, "It is He who made us and not we ourselves."  Perhaps one of the greatest lies in our culture is that "we are in control of creating life."  We think that it is up to us to make the decision of when and how many children we should have.  And that the "wise" person will carefully calculate timing and circumstances to "create" life when it is most convienent.
    While it is true that God allows us the power to end life and to keep life from being created, we cannot create a person.  Do we really believe God's word, "It is He who made us and not we ourselves"?  We can seek doctors to heal, repair or encourage our reproductive systems but it is still God who creates the life.  If we are married it is impossible for us to err in this arena.  We cannot have too many children, we cannot have them at the wrong time or even for the wrong reason because we do not create the children. 
    So if it is truly God creating the life within us it is only logical that we trust Him for His timing and His plan.  Once we limit, space or cut off children we are saying, "I don't trust God."
    *Is God not big enough to provide for the babies He creates?
    *Is God not wise enough to know when the babies should be born?
    *Is God not strong enough to enable our bodies to handle the pregnancy and delivery? 
      (If we are in submission to Him, He knows when to take us home and how)
    *Is God not sufficient enough to handle our potential post-pardom depression?
No potential problem is to difficult for God.  Luke 1:37 says, "Nothing is impossible with God."  Phillipians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 
    God's command is that we be fruitful and increase in number, (i.e. we have sex at the right time) and God creates the life.  Life is not created at random intervals.  God specifically designs and creates a person.  You and I are not accidents.  God knows any problems that might arrise, He knows what the doctors say, He knows your pain and His plan is perfect.  But when we cut off life it is no longer His plan but ours.  Do we trust God?

God's Heart

    As we begin this blog our hearts are burdened for the church.  In our circles of friends and in the churches we have been to there appears to a great lack of knowledge and teaching of God's Word.  We have a surface knowledge of God and His Word but we don't normally go deep enough to really have God change us.  We don't want to talk about the commands in God's Word that make us uncomfortable, or that challenge our culture or our "rights."  We have adopted the world's idea that what is right for me is right for me and what is right for you is right for you. As Christians we have spiritualized it by saying "What God wants for me may be different than what He wants for you.  So don't you dare "attack or judge" my beliefs, it is between me and God.  If you do, I will be quick to call you a legalist because I don't want anyone (including God?) to tell me what to do."  This sounds a lot like the oft repeated phrase in Judges "In those days ... everyone did as he saw fit."
    Perhaps the most crucial issue before us today is the issue of life.  Ravi Zacharias stated that the basis of human rights begins with "a 'right' to exist."  Most of us immediately think of abortion and we know it is wrong.  But do we realize that most of us are purposing daily to keep life from even beginning.  We are acting in accordance with our culture of death without most of us even realizing that we are doing it.  Is this God's design, is this His heart, do our practices have specific scriptural backing? 
    We must begin by asking ourselves some basic questions.  Do I know what He says? Do I know what is in His heart?  Or, do I really want to know?  Am I scared His Word might say something that would make me feel guilty or tell me to do something that I don't want to do?  In 1 Samuel 2:35 God says He is looking for someone"who will do according to what is in [His] heart and mind."  Then chapter 13 says that "The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader of His people, [not Saul] because [he had] not kept the Lord's command."  Jesus says "If you love Me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15).
    What is the Lord's command concerning life?  In the beginning God makes His heart and design clear.  Genesis 1:28 says "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."  God says this again after Noah and his family came off the ark, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth" (Gen.9:1). 
    Some of us may think that this was an Old Testament command and that we don't have to obey it anymore.  However, this predates the Law.  It was a command given at the foundation of our earth's creation.  In the New Testament Jesus quotes from Genesis and thus validates it's use and relevance today.
Some of us may think this command was only for the generation meant to "fill" the earth and now it is "full" so this command no longer applies to us.  However, contrary to the myth of overpopulation, our world is not overpopulated.  The media has indoctrinated the public with this myth in order to accomplish Satan's design, which is death.  A deeper study of "overpopulation" reveals the truth.  God's commands and "precepts are always right, giving joy to the heart" (Ps. 19:8).
    We have so much more to say about this ... but for now we leave with this question:  Am I truly a person after God's own heart or am I a person after my own heart?