Bows and Arrows

“Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children …are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.” - (Psalm 127: 3 -4) In our culture today it is obvious that we do not have the values of God in many areas of the way we live. In this magnificent little psalm Solomon declares that children are a gift from God – we should be filled with joy when we realize we are going to be parents. Although millions of people do agree with God on this value, there are many millions who do not. That is painfully obvious as many, many millions of children are aborted every year simply because they are not wanted. In this beautiful psalm Solomon gives us an inspired metaphor. He writes that children are like arrows and their parents are like bows from which they are thrust out into life. This means that being parents is a solemn and serious responsibility. The way some young people are thrust into life makes me think of the poet who wrote: “I shot an arrow into the air; it fell to earth I know not where.” As David faced the giant Goliath, he said magnificent and wonderful things. The king was watching from the top of a hill. The king asked his general “Whose son is that young man?” When David reported to the king with Goliath’s head, the king asked the same question. It is as if he was saying to David “You are a beautiful arrow, but I want to meet the bow from which you were thrust into life.” If you are a parental ‘bow,’ rejoice and trust God to make you more than the best bow you can be.