There are various reasons why adults want to have children. For some, it’s to remove societal stigma from their lives; for some, it’s like a symbol of love and connection, as your children become a seal on the bond of your union; still, for some, it’s to fulfill tradition; and yet, for others, it is for legacy.
Malachi 2:15 says, “Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one?
Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit and do
not break faith with the wife of your youth.”
In the first paragraph, I mentioned some of the reasons why
we as humans long to have children. But in the scripture above, we will notice
that just as we long to have children, so also does the Lord seek godly
children from the marriage union of a man and his wife.
In this blog post, I want to understand and appreciate a few
things about parenting by answering two questions that we may have regarding
the desire of God for godly offspring. The questions are: “Why does the Lord
seek godly offspring?” “How do we give God the godly offspring that He seeks?”
Why Does God Seek Godly Offspring? God's Purpose for His Children
One thing that will easily come to mind here is that
children are from the Lord. Psalm 127:3 says, “Sons are a heritage from the
Lord, children a reward from Him.” So you wonder: if sons are a heritage
from the Lord, why then would He seek godly offspring from a marriage union?
Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between you and
the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and
you will strike his heel.” A godly offspring that the Lord seeks is one who
will fulfill this judgment of God on the serpent. And offspring that will
continually crush the head of the serpent.
One hidden truth that I find in this scripture is that the
Lord mentioned first that the offspring of the woman will crush the head of the
serpent. If the head of the serpent is crushed, the serpent is dead and unable
to strike the heel of the offspring of the woman. It is only if the head of the
serpent is not crushed that it can strike the heel of the offspring of the
woman.
So to say that the offspring God seeks are those who will fulfill
what He has pronounced over the serpent. The offspring that God seeks are there
as warriors to do the will of God by effecting His judgment. To crush the head
of the serpent.
While Jesus Christ holds the ultimate victory over Satan,
those who believe in Him have become children of God and joint-heirs with
Christ (John 1:12; Romans 8:16–17). And Romans 16:20 tells us that the God of
peace will crush Satan under our feet. Therefore, the godly offspring that God
seeks are not merely children who know His Word, but a generation raised to
stand in Christ's victory and fulfill His purposes on earth.
Matthew 6:9-10 says, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
This scripture is taken from the Lord’s prayer that most of us can recite off
our heads, but in it, I believe, is another reason why God seeks godly
offspring from the man and the wife of his youth.
Jesus taught us to pray to God that may His Kingdom come and
may His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And the answer to that prayer
is in the godly offspring that He seeks. It is not angels who will do the will
of God on earth, but the children born into the earth; the godly offspring that
the Lord seeks.
I believe that we understand better now why God desires that
our children are godly; it is to crush the head of satan and to bring the
kingdom of God here on earth and to do the will of God as it is done in heaven.
Because the Lord Seeks Godly Offspring — discover why God desires godly children, His divine purpose for the next generation, and how parents can nurture faith, instill His Word, and raise children who advance His Kingdom and fulfill His will on earth.
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How to Raise Godly Offspring Through God's Word
Earlier on, I mentioned to us that children are a heritage
from God. This is nothing short of the truth, but the gift of children from God
would have to be trained in a godly manner by the parents whom the Lord has
blessed them with, so they can fulfill their God-ordained purpose here on
earth.
So God blesses us with children and assigns us to train them
for His purpose. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “These commandments that I give to
you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down
and when you get up.”
God did not just give
us children and then tell us He seeks godly offspring from our marriage union,
but He took the time to tell us how to achieve His desired goals in the lives
of our children.
To have God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, we
will need to have the commandments of God upon our hearts; we will be soaked in
them; we will talk about them when we sit and when we walk along the road; when
we lie down and when we stand up, we must tie them as a symbol on our heads,
bind them on our hands, tie them to our door-frames and our gates.
But after all that, we must impress them on our children. So,
to say that we must live and breathe the word of God and not that alone, our
children after us must live and breathe the word of God too. Because how do we
bring the kingdom of God down to earth and do the will of God on earth when we
don’t know what those words or will are?
How do you display heavenly culture when we don't have an
idea of what that culture is? How can the offspring of the woman crush the head
of the serpent when he does not have the power or strategy to do so?
In order to give God the godly offspring that He seeks, we
need to teach them God’s words, and in fact impress them on our children. I
tried to understand what Moses was talking about when he instructed that we
should impress the Lord’s command on our children.
What I found as the meaning of impress upon is to make
someone clearly understand or feel the strong importance, value, or seriousness
of an idea, rule, or lesson. It is to stress a point so another person realizes
it truly matters. It is to leave a deep, lasting effect on someone’s memory,
thoughts, or conscience. You need to drive home the point to your children.
You need to instill the word of God in your children,
emphasize it, hammer home the point, and ensure they understand it. But more
importantly, let them see the word of God active in your own life. Your
children need to see you live and breathe the word of God too. Your daily
living should be a daily confirmation of the efficacy and truthfulness of God’s
word.
Impressing the commands of God on your children and having
yourself as a living example of the power of God’s word all amount to you
sowing seeds in the lives of your children. Now, it is important to sow seeds,
and that act of sowing seeds of God’s word in the lives of children is within
the capacity of parents from whom God seeks godly offspring.
Why Prayer Is Essential in Raising Godly Children
But there is another important task required of the parents.
When a farmer plants a seed, he can water it, nurture it, and remove weeds that
may be competing with the plant for the available nutrients. He can protect the
seed from birds, worms, and any other parasite that may hinder the growth of
the plant.
But whether the seed will germinate or not is beyond what he
can determine. This is the same thing when it comes to us impressing the word
of God on our children. That is the first important step; the second step,
which is equally as important, is to pray for our children.
As parents, we need to always pray for our children so that
what we have painstakingly taught and impressed on them stays with them. In
John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
The thief does not steal what is of no value. The word of
God in the lives of your children is of great value, and it is a target for the
devil to steal and destroy. And just like that farmer who nurtures his plants,
parents also need to cover the seed they plant in their children with prayers. First,
you need to pray that the seed germinates, and then you pray that the plant is
protected and not stolen or destroyed.
God seeks godly offspring because He desires generations of
people who will know Him, live according to His Word, and fulfill His purposes
on earth. As parents, we have been entrusted with the responsibility of raising
children who will stand for God's truth and advance His kingdom.
We fulfill this assignment by first living according to
God's Word ourselves, then diligently impressing that Word upon our children.
But just as a farmer cannot guarantee that every seed he plants will germinate,
we must recognize our dependence on God. That is why we must never stop praying
for our children, asking God to establish His Word in their hearts and preserve
them in His ways.
Our responsibility is to plant, nurture, and pray, trusting
God to bring forth the increase.
Please find other helpful parenting blog titles below. You can click the
title to read the blog.
How to Raise Godly Children: Biblical Lessons for Intentional Parenting
How Can I Raise Godly Children When I Feel Overwhelmed?
How to Parent Adult Children: Biblical Guidance Without Control
How to Train Up a Child in the Way of the Lord: Biblical Parenting Tips
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