THE LORD’S HERITAGE

THE LORD’S HERITAGE

Last Sunday, the 29th September, 2024, we celebrated Heritage Sunday at church. It was such a great time having our children minister to us. It was filled with all kinds of pleasent surprises and I was truly blessed.

A heritage is something passed down or handed down from generations before.

In scripture we are told that, children are the LORD’S heritage. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalms 127:3 KJV

Simply put our children have been handed  down to us from our Heavenly Father.

I sat down and thought deeply about this after the Heritage Service on Sunday.

Many couples haved died childlless.

Some of them spent days, weeks , months and years praying, fasting, believing and trusting God and yet it did not happen.

Some couples are both church workers actively working in the LORD’S vineyard and on fire for Jesus, and yet they remain childless.

Some men and women married as virgins and are both still waiting on the LORD for the fruit of the womb.

Some men and women had multiple sex partners before marriage and as soon as they came together they were blessed with a multiple birth.

Some women had terminated multiple pregnancies before marriage and as soon as they got married they conceived and had children.

Dear friends, there is absolutely no formula for having children. Children are exactly who the bible says they are – The Heritage of the LORD.

Here is a short story of someone who understood that God is the one who gives children.

After deceiving, and after years of being on the run from his twin brother, Jacob had no choice but to go back, meet him and make peace. And though he trusted God for a reconciliation with his brother, he was still very afraid for his life and the life of his family. But God had already gone ahead and softened his brother Esau’s heart. It was indeed a great reconciliation. By this time Jacob (now Israel) had had an encounter with the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac and he knew that it was not his effort or smarts that got him where he was. Jacob acknowledged as much when Esau enquired about his family knowing Jacob had run off alone all those many years ago.

“When Esau noticed the women and children he asked, “Whose children are these?” Jacob answered, “These are the children the LORD has been kind enough to give to me, your servant.” Genesis 33:5 CEV

Jacob did not boast about his virility or fertility. He did not brag about the four different women that were mothers to his many children. He humbly acknowledged that it was the LORD’S kindness and goodness that had brought him all he had.

While enjoying and partaking of all the blessings from God’s Heritage on Sunday somethings struck me.

As these children are God’s heritage we must handle them with every care. The very first cue to the assignment is this: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 KJV 

Training up a child is not about bombarding them with material gifts. There is a place for that but honestly it is not the priority. Imagine teaching a child from a young age to read the bible, to commit bible verses to memory and even to meditate on them. Trust me, you have done the absolute very best for that child. Also it is very important to bring the children to the place of worship and let them pay attention. Sermon time is not the time to whip out that device and let them get busy playing games. That is a no-no. Yet this is what a lot of parents do. How will they depart from that when they grow up? Let us be very mindful of what we do.

As it is the LORD who has handed down these children to us, it behoves us to nurture them. They are gems, precious gifts.

We do not treat our precious stones shabily. We ought to pay more attention to our children and in particular limit screen time. But if our own faces are in social media from sun up to sun down, you can be certain that our children are watching us and will eventually repeat what they see us doing. As parents we should also stop using our children to pursue our own personal agendas of competiting with others. Every child has a destiny to fulfill. Carefully help and lead them to fulfill their destiny. Being a parent is a real privilege and we must not abuse it.

I am so proud of the LORD’S Heritage at my church and honestly the teachers are a great blessing to us all. However as parents and grand parents we should also be actively involved in training our children in the way that they should go and not leave them exclusively for the teachers at church or at school even. Training them up is not supposed to be a weekly Sunday routine but a daily routine at home. For each child we train up, the world will be a better place.

The LORD’S HERITAGE IS PRECIOUS, HANDLE IT WITH CARE. 

LET US TRAIN THEM IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO. WE ALL WILL BE BETTER OFF FOR IT. 

 

OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©