The Hope of Children

From yesterday's email to my growing group of beautiful, maturing, vibrant young women . . .

Hello, girls! Today I read from Psalm 78, 79, and 80.

"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
    incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
² I will open my mouth in a parable;
    I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³ things that we have heard and known,
    that our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children,
    but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
    and the wonders that he has done.
⁵ He established a testimony in Jacob
    and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
    to teach to their children,
⁶ that the next generation might know them,
    the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷     so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
    but keep his commandments . . ."

I have a special place in my heart for the Scriptures that speak of young children, infants, and generations "yet to be born." (Perhaps because I hope to be midwife someday). I love these passages because I am reminded that even though the world wanes darker and darker with each passing year (and I read some pretty depressing/chilling news articles today), God still places emphasis on the hope springing up in a new generation of children. An older adult told me recently, "I'm sorry that this is the world you have to inherit. It wasn't this bad when I was starting out."


But I realized that just as I am now full of energy to take on the challenges of living a godly life and creating a realm of beauty and holiness on a cursed planet, so will the children of each era be given the vision and the fortitude to overcome the evils of their day. We (the Church) won't simply wither up and wilt away to nothingness--and then Jesus returns to claim a nonexistent Bride; no, there will always be a steady pulsating heartbeat of true believers waiting for their Bridegroom to come. So cherish the little ones in your lives--they are your beacon of hope for days yet to come. Invest in them. They are probably your siblings; they might be nieces and nephews, little kids at church, and very soon they will be your own children. They are infinitely precious and valuable to God, and even though our culture hates them and destroys them and ignores them and poorly raises the few it does have, you are not of this world, but of another world, and you love what God loves and hates what he hates. He loves and delights in children, and the promise he brings to the earth through them, and so ought we.

Good night, dear ones!