Children; the precious gift from God.

1. The origin

Reading Genesis, we hear the idea of children first mention in the creation account.

Genesis 1:26–28 NKJV

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

First, the term man (adam) is generic (referring to both man and woman) in this passage.

God created adam (man & woman) in His image to image Him forth here on earth as His representation by having dominion over creatures and taking care of the environment.

God united Adam and Eve in marriage and they became one flesh, hence He blessed them to multiply. This is the first instance we hear the idea of children.

From these premises, we can deduce that:

This blessing of offspring was given before the fall, not as a result of the fall. Therefore, they are not a curse, but a blessing.

The multiplication of adam (man) means that babies are born in the image of God. Therefore, they have intrinsic value that is found in the image of God within them.

adma (man) was ethically confined to multiply in the marriage union (one flesh, marriage institution).

Psalm 127:3 (NKJV)

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

2. Nature of Babies

In order to understand anyone’s responsibility towards children, we need to understand their nature.

Thinking about the nature of man, St. Augustine (354–430) argued that “Man’s nature, indeed, was created at first faultless and without any sin; but that nature of man in which every one is born from Adam, now wants the Physician, because it is not sound. (ONG, 3)”

a. Born with a nature that is sinful.

The Bible is very clear that Children (descendants of Adam) are born sinful. Paul said:

Romans 5:19 NKJV

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

King Solomon said: Ecc. 7:20

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NKJV)

For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

Eliphazi the Temanite said to Job:

Job 15:14–16 (NKJV)

“What is man, that he could be pure?

And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

If God puts no trust in His saints,

And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,

Who drinks iniquity like water!

Describing the heart of man, Prophet Jeremiah said, Jeremiah 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

Every human who was born from Adam and Eve, (which is after the fall), inherit the sinful nature from our parents.

b. Born without the knowledge of sin.

While children are born in sinful nature, they are born without knowing what’s wrong and what’s right.

This is how God described the little one who were born in the wilderness from the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 1:39 NKJV

‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

While children are born with conscience, as they grow that conscience grows weaker or stronger based on what they are taught.

Therefore, the wise principle in Proverbs instructing parents to:

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

3. Parent’s responsibility.

With regard to the principle of training up a child, we see God instructing the children of Israel over and over to not only keep the commandments but teach their children.

Deut. 4:9,

Deuteronomy 4:9 NKJV

Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,

As if that was enough, another emphasis:

Deuteronomy 6:7–9 NKJV

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Yet another emphasis. this tells us how significant it is to teach the children who God is, who they are, and what it means to follow the Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:19 NKJV

You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

For this to happen, families must follow God’s model of marriage because these children were meant to be raised in a marriage institution.

Therefore, husbands are commanded to lead their families by loving their wives as Christ loves the Church.

In order to raise their children in God’s way, they shall self-sacrificially offer themselves to teach and seek the sanctification and spiritual maturity of their wives.

Husbands, do not be passive and fail to lead and protect your wives from temptations of this world like Adam did in the Garden of Eden. You know the consequences.

Wives must unconditionally submit themselves to their husbands as the Church submits to Christ.

This is a home God intended every child to grow under. Destroying this model is raising broken children, creating a distorted society, and building a foundation of the next generation on the sad.

The relationship of Husband and wife is priory before the relation of parent and son.

Therefore, parents, watch your relationship with God because it will shape your marriage relationship, which will shape the way you will raise your children.

Do not forget that you don’t own these children, you are stewards and God will hold you accountable one day.

4. Community Responsibility

We are all stewards of God’s creation.

We stewards towards one another. therefore, we must provide support to these parent as they raise their children.

We must be the salt in the lives of these little ones according to Matthew 5:13.

Matthew 5:13 NKJV

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

We must be the light in the lives of these little ones according to Matthew 5:14-16.

Matthew 5:14–16 NKJV

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Conclusion

Parents! You have the Lord to obey, If you don’t feel your minds and the minds of these little ones with God’s Word. The world will fill their mind with the knowledge that comes from the prince of this generation as Paul describes him in Ephesians 2.

Joshua 24:15 NKJV

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”