Receiving & Enjoying Our Inheritance

What is our greatest physical or material gift? What is the most significant possession we have received?

The Bible tells us clearly: It is our children.

I hear Psalm 127:3 quoted often: “Behold, children are a blessing from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Unfortunately, the English word “blessing” has been diluted. It is tossed around in irrelevant vagueness and carries little weight with most people today.

While "blessing" is a fine word, it doesn’t quite capture the Hebrew intent. The words “inheritance” or “heritage” are closer to the author’s meaning. God gives us a grand inheritance in the fruit of the womb. Children are a gift, a stewardship, and a responsibility assigned to us by our kind Creator. They are our portion—the share God has assigned us to raise up and eventually release into the world (Psalm 127:4-5).

I remember walking through our pastures a couple of years ago, reading through Genesis 1, when a simple observation stopped me in my tracks. God’s very first command to mankind was not to make disciples, to love our neighbor, or even to love Him.

His first command was: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” (Gen. 1:28).

Our culture has been conditioned to fear and disobey this command. We are told the earth cannot support more people and that children are an "inconvenience" or a drain on resources. Downstream from this mindset is a neglect of parental responsibility that leads to dissatisfaction and sorrow in our households.

We often worry about how we will provide, yet our God has promised to build the house and maintain the city. We reject or limit our inheritance spoken of in verse three because we don't trust the foundation laid out in the first verses of Psalm 127:

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

If we believe Verse 1, we can stop doing Verse 2.

Charles Spurgeon once told a story about the Rev. Moses Browne, who had twelve children. When someone remarked, “Sir, you have just as many children as Jacob,” Browne replied: “Yes, and I have Jacob’s God to provide for them.”

Jesus welcomed the children and calls us to do the same. The Kingdom of God is for them. God’s Kingdom comes to our homes and our world as we raise our children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Our world, our communities, and our homes will be happier places when we see God’s role for our children and value them for the incredible treasure they are.

How have you been affected by an unbiblical view of children and family in the past?

What is one thing you can do today to better incorporate this truth into your home?

Want to go further? I recommend the following books:

• Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

• Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham

• The Biblically Healthy Household by Carlton McLeod

• The Family at Church by Scott T. Brown

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