Is there any staying power for those times when we think there's little hope? Maybe we think there's little reason to stay at our parental post, little reason to keep our hand to the plow.
John Calvin on children from Psalm 127.
“It is no small gift of God for a man to be renewed in his posterity; for God then gives him new strength, that he who otherwise would straightway decay, may begin as it were to live a second time….unless men regard their children as the gift of God, they are careless and reluctant in providing for their support, just as on the other hand this knowledge contributes in a very eminent degree to encourage them in bringing up their offspring. Farther, he who thus reflects upon the goodness of God in giving him children, will readily and with a settled mind look for the continuance of God’s grace; and although he may have but a small inheritance to leave them, he will not be unduly careful on that account.”The Lord gives perpetuity of covenantal hope in and through our children. God has ordained them to preach the gospel of His faithfulness to us. Grace comes in generational doses, not quick-relief tablets of Advil. Stay at it moms and dads, stay at it youth workers, pastors, teachers and counselors!
Here, in eschatology, in hope and confidence with respect to the Lord's faithfulness and confirmation that our present labor is not in vain, God rears grace in those who come after us. Calvin says, tending to children gives a second wind, a second life; it's like being born again. It's the continuance of His grace.
G. Mark Sumpter
No comments:
Post a Comment