The Nurture of God’s Children – Part 1

Getting the Big Glorious Picture

The topic of these posts would typically be called “child raising,” or “training up your children.” But for reasons which I hope will become clear as we go along, I am calling them “The Nurture of God’s Children.”

This is obviously a very practical topic, and partly because it is so practical, we have an impulse to jump right into the nuts and bolts. We need to resist that impulse. The bigger the project, the more important it is to have the big picture in view before we start. Otherwise, when the going gets tough, we can lose our perspective and lose our way. So before we delve into the details, let’s get the big picture in view. Besides, it is a glorious picture to see.

Procreation and the image of God.

Unlike angels, we have been chosen by God to participate in procreation, in building his Bride, his human temple.  God created the angels as a host — that is, he created them all at once (Job 38.4, 7). Man, on the other hand, was created as a race which grows into host. So man is called by God to “be fruitful and multiply,” to “fill the earth” (Gen 1.28).

Man was also created in the image of God (Gen 1.27). Being God’s image means being God’s child. Thus Adam is called the “son of God” (Luke  3.38). Man’s children are born both in God’s image and in man’s image (Gen 1.27-28; 5.3).

With the fall, man became an adulterated image.  He was still the image of God in one sense, and yet in another sense he was the image of Satan (Gen 9.6; John 8.44). How can that be? If you look at your image in a mirror, you will see that it not only reflects you, it imitates you – it does what you do. Similarly, man was created both to reflect God (reason, imagination, etc) and to imitate God (following his example). After the fall, man retained his reflections of God, but he ceased to imitate God, choosing instead to imitate another (James 3.9; John 8.44).

In his incarnation, Jesus became the Son of God – the same title originally bestowed on Adam – because Jesus was a new Adam (Luke 1.35), the head of a new human race (Rom 5.14, 18-19; 1Cor 15.45).  As a new Adam, Christ came to destroy the works of the devil — to restore God’s intentions for mankind and the world (1John 3.8; 2Cor 3.18; Col 3.10). Through Christ, we have been adopted back into God’s family — we are his children again in the full sense of the word (Rom 8.15-17; Gal 4.4-7). And we are being renewed in Christ’s image (2Cor 3.18; Col 3.10).

Children are part of God’s restoration of mankind and the world.

What scares Satan? Babies. Not just any babies, but the babies of believers. That is why God calls them warrior’s arrows (Psalm 127.4). Satan understands this even if many Christians do not. He understands where God has ordained strength — in their little nursing mouths (Psalm 8.2). That is why throughout Scripture Satan is constantly trying to cut off the godly line — those who are being renewed in the image of the New Adam — and establish the ungodly line — those whom Satan effectively holds captive to do his will (Exo 1.15-16; Mat 2.16; 2Tim 2.26).

Children are also God’s inheritance to his children (Psalm 127.3). Let me make that a little clearer. If God is our Father, what does he give us as an inheritance? Children. What is an inheritance? Something of great value given by a father to a child with the intent that the child treasure it, enjoy it, and build it up. That is exactly what God intends us to do with the children he gives us.

Thus our children are both our inheritance and our legacy. No matter how great we might become, we will never affect the world to the degree our children might, nor even less to the degree our grandchildren and great-grandchildren might.

So we see that just as children were a vital part of God’s glorious intentions for mankind and the world, they are equally part of his plan to restore those glorious intentions. In this fallen world, God’s glory peaks out from behind the sweat of the brow and the pain of bearing children.

1. 

   Isaiah says:

   January 29, 2011 at 4:35 pm

   Amen, thanks for the thought Pastor B.
2. 

   john burrow says:

   January 30, 2011 at 5:47 pm

   Our greatest task must be to train ourselves and children to be Godly. Thanks, Bro
3. 

   Alan says:

   January 30, 2011 at 5:53 pm

   You’re welcome, Bro. Great to have you in!
4. 

   Shelly says:

   February 4, 2011 at 1:04 pm

   Anxiously awaiting for more! This is one of my favorite series. However, the series you are doing now is right up there with the Nurture of Gods Children as being another favorite.