You already have four children. Why would you want more? This was another common attitude that we encountered when we would tell people that we were getting involved with foster care. I wasn’t so surprised by this reaction from people outside of the church, but I was from people within the church. It seems verses such as Psalm 127:3-5 have been forgotten when considering families.
Psalm 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 warrier 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.
As Christians we testify to the Word of God being divinely inspired. Question three of the Shorter Baptist Catechism puts it this way:
“The Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, being God-breathed, are infallible and inerrant in all their parts and are, therefore, trustworthy in all that they affirm concerning history, science, doctrine, ethics, religious practices, or any other topic.”
The Catechism then goes on to cite 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; and John 10:35b as support for this truth. If God’s word tells us that children are a reward from Him, they are as important as arrows are to a warrior, that man is blessed with many, and that by having a “quiver full” you will not be put to shame, why is it that we look at children as a burden?
We prayed about doing foster care for a while before actually taking the classes. We were concerned about how it was going to affect our family, our freedom. We were on easy street as far as children were concerned. Our oldest was thirteen and our youngest was seven. We were able to go out on “date nights” whenever we wanted. We were able to sleep late on Saturday mornings and sleep soundly all night. Why would we ever want to bring other children into our home, let alone an infants? Were we crazy?
Well, the answer is yes, but not for the reasons you might think. We were crazy. Crazy for doubting God’s word, crazy living for ourselves and our own comfort, and crazy for missing out on this blessing for so many years. We are now experiencing the truth of Psalm 127. Children are a heritage and a reward!
So are we collecting children? No! Collections belong in glass cabinets or on shelves. What we are doing is making ourselves useful to our Master and allowing His love to flow through us to His children.
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