Thinking about the time with our Moms Group this evening. Discussion went to Genesis 1, when God blessed Adam and Eve. Part of that blessing was to be fruitful and multiply. Children are God's blessing to us. What an awesome privilege to be part of God's plan of procreating the earth! He has put it in our hearts to receive this blessing, but because of the Fall and the sinful state of life, many have difficulty seeing children as anything but a hindrance or a nuisance. They're certainly work and responsibility, but God's blessings are always good for us.
Families are a good thing. Children bring life to ..... well, life! Before I had children, I had no concept of what joy they would bring me. I had delayed blessings because of my own self-focus. Nine years of career-minded thinking, not knowing what joy and blessing I was missing. That's not to say that everything changed in the birthing room. I had to have a heart change, and that took some time. But when I got my focus off myself and onto these new little humans that God had placed in my life, my capacity for receiving the blessings greatly increased. I could have lived in those years forever.
The fruitful family was even the foundational place in which the Son of God was placed in which to represent his Father in this world. When God chose to bring Jesus into the world, as a full reflection of his glory and being, he chose to bring him into a simple family with a mother and father and, eventually, siblings. It was within the context of this home that Jesus was trained and instructed and loved and nurtured, both protected and prepared for his ministry ahead.
Totally awesome.
Painting ~ The Family Picnic, Frederick Morgan 1856-1927
Wikigallery public domain
