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The Gift and the Giver
By Reagan Parker
In many realms of life, the experience is everything. In the workplace, you need certain skills that come from experience, and many employers may not even consider you for a job if you lack the experience required. To complete certain tasks, the experience is needed (or someone to show you how it should be done). People tend not to like working or listening to someone who is inexperienced in a specific matter. Experience is often the key to success.
Now, after saying this, I will readily admit that I have absolutely no experience in parenting. I am not married (I consider myself too young) and do not have children. So, when I speak concerning the struggles of parents, my inexperience speaks undesirable volumes, but fortunately, my inexperience does not disable me from offering beneficial insight or keep me from pointing to scripture, which teaches us all we need and sufficiently equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And besides, I have the bountiful experience (unfortunately) of being an absolutely painful child to my parents.
Expected pregnancies are almost always seen as gifts. A couple tries to have a baby and rejoices at the news of a new addition to the family. Parents take pride in their children since the moment they are born. Historically, in some societies and ages, if one did not have a child they were looked down on or thought of as cursed. Hannah, as written in the Old Testament, was mocked and distraught when she could not give birth but rejoiced when God blessed her with her son Samuel (1 Samuel 1).
Unexpected pregnancies, especially in our culture, tend not to grant the same positive excitement. Depending on the circumstance, an unexpected pregnancy can result in fear, distress, discomfort, etc. This new life is seen as a distraction, an annoyance, or a hindrance. A single mother will understandably have difficulty carrying a baby for 40 weeks and raising that child after, especially while finishing school or working a job. Children are expensive and difficult to raise. Oftentimes, it is in these cases of unexpected pregnancies that end in the termination of that baby’s life.
So, is this new life in the womb of the mother a gift or a curse? Can it be one or the other? That is what the world would seem to argue. Should one child be considered a blessing while the other a curse merely because of circumstance? The best place to go to answer this question is scripture. See Psalms 127:3-5:
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
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There is no doubt from reading these verses that children are a gift from God. Oxford dictionaries give the following definitions to “heritage”: “property that is or may be inherited” or “a special or individual possession”. Children are a valuable possession given from God that must be cherished and protected; they are a reward, as the Psalmist says. The passage goes on to say children are “like arrows in the hand of a warrior.” In combat, arrows would be essential for an archer. When the warrior runs out of projectiles to fire, they are left defenseless, and vulnerable to the enemy. In the same way, children are just as invaluable to the parent, being able to provide support in times of need.
The Bible certainly recognizes that having children can be difficult at times. Jesus even says “alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” (Matthew 24:19), speaking about the horrific Abomination of Desolation that will occur in the end times. There are times when having children is difficult and painful and seemingly impossible, but even then, they are no less of a blessing. The fruit of the womb will always be a reward and children will always be a heritage. There is no exception to this in scripture and there are absolutely no grounds in the Bible that support abortion or infanticide, no matter how difficult the situation.
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Each human life is not merely a reward to the parents though, they are a miraculous creation that displays the wonder of God. In Psalm 139, David recognizes that God Himself formed him in his mother’s womb. No person just spontaneously forms and is born. God’s hand is active in the formation of every life like a potter forms his clay. We are all the craftmanship of God, and David says we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made.” God has made mankind in His own image to reflect Himself. We are incredible creations because we reflect the God of the universe who is infinitely incredible. With such a gift as this, we cannot be so mindless as to destroy it at the very time God is actively forming it.
Since we know that all life is a gift from God, what must we do? For the parents, they should nurture and protect their children as being precious above all earthly possessions. For everyone else, we must support the mothers and fathers in their responsibility of raising their children. We must all adore both the life given to us and the Giver who has provided such a miraculous gift.
No child is a curse. Circumstance can’t change that. Physical deformities can’t change that. Time can’t change that. Nothing in this world can change that. So embrace the truth and praise our God who gives and protects the life He has given.