Why Five?

This evening I have had only a few moments of silence. Between serving Heather , monitors going off, Carissa needing changing, etc I have had only a few moments of serious thought and reflection. In those brief moments I have turned to the Scriptures for wisdom, strength and hope. I have to be honest and confess that I need the encouragement that only God and His Word can provide.

Surrendering all of your life to the Lord is not always easy in a world that is opposed to the things of God. One area of surrender that seems to be at odds with what the world thinks and all to often what the church thinks is the desire to have multiple children. Why have we chosen to have multiple children? The answer is really simple, I believe the Bible is sufficient to guide all of life's decisions. Here are just a few Scriptures that I believe God was serious about when He chose to record them for us.

Genesis 1:27-28 states that God made man in His image and commanded them to be "fruitful and multiply" and "fill the earth." If you have heard me speak to this text, I believe implied in this command is to "fill the earth" with worshipers. God is passionate about His creation worshiping Him as He created them to do. If God is passionate for future generations to be raised up to worship Him, then I want to make that my passion also.

In reading Genesis30 you will discover in verse 2 that God is the one who withholds children from some and in verse 22 God opens the womb of others. When God opens the womb and blesses it to bear a child, what He has done is "endowed me with a good gift." This good gift is a child.

Probably the most notable of all of Scripture is Psalm 127. There children are described as a gift or blessing from the Lord. If that was not clear enough Solomon uses the very language of God stating that children are"fruit" of the womb and a reward.

I am often asked "are you crazy", "are you going to have more", "how many children do you want" or people state that "you are better (or more brave) than I am." One thing I want to make clear is that I do not see myself more spiritual or better than anyone else, nor do I judge people for not having larger families. Remember I also believe the Lord can close the womb just as easily as He opens it. When asked the questions above, I typically find that they are being asked out of ignorance of the Scripture. I usually respond "we want to have as many children as the Lord will give us." If the Lord wants to give us five, then I want five. If twelve children our God's plan for our family, who am I to say to God's plans are wrong?

Last night I met a mother who had just delivered her second child. I congratulated her on the birth of her baby girl. This lady shared with me that her oldest was a 5yr old boy and that she had finally gotten her girl. "Now I am finished" she exclaimed. The inevitable question was asked, what did you have. I responded that we had a baby girl and she was our fifth child. Her response was "GOOOOOOOOOD LOOOOOOOOOORD!" To this I responded, Yes He is a "good Lord." In that moment of awkwardness I wanted to rush to a mirror and see if I really looked like a four-headed creature from another planet that I was perceived to be. Instead I went on to share with the lady how God had been good to us and blessed us with this precious little one. I shared how God will supply all of our needs and will take care of us and our children. By this time my coffee was ready and she finished gathering some late night snacks.

This lady's response is for the most part normal. Why is this the norm? Why is the norm with followers of Jesus? One of the conclusions that I have come to is the "Father of Lies" is seeking to distort the God's passion and plan for generations to be raised up to worship Him. Our family is open to the Lord's guidance in planning our family. We seek to honor the Lord by being intentional in training the children the Lord gives us to be passionate for God and passionate to see all nations worship Him. Please pray for us that God would enable us to teach and train the little ones He has entrusted to us. Pray that we would continue to put the Lord first in all things and ask our Father to protect us from the enemy who's plan is to steal, kill, and destroy. Pray that we would be honor our Lord by being a light in this dark world.