Tonight after supper we broke out the popsicles. "What was the occasion?" you ask. We had worked/played/grilled out in the yard and wanted some cold refreshment at the end of the day. While we sat there, I looked and saw my wife and each of our kids sitting around our table working on a delicious frozen dessert. It just made me so happy and reminded me of Psalm 128:3. "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table." I don't have any firsthand experience with olive trees, but I do know that they live for thousands of years, and there is evidence that they may live forever. They can also grow in rocky and inhospitable environments. That's how I want my kids to be. I want them to be able to grow in spite of the hostility of their environments. I want them to have roots that run into the Word of the Lord and consequently cannot fail. I want them to live forever. I want my kids to entrust their lives to God. I want us to be together when this world and this life are all over.
Verse one teaches us who receives these blessings: "Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways." The best things that we can do for our families so that they can see the Lord and understand the truth of His Word, are to fear Him and to walk in His ways. In all honesty, it's easy for me to worry about my kids and what their lives will be like as they grow and as the world pushes farther into rebellion against its Creator. But, I'm wrong to worry. One of God's greatest gifts to parents is His readiness to hear our prayers for our kids and for our wisdom and strength to raise them.
"He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young."-Isaiah 40:11