We are enamored of “ownership”. We own our cars, our homes, our clothes, our tools, you name it. As church congregations, we even own our facilities. We indicate that with the use of the words “my” and “our”. It’s “my” car, “our” home, “my” shirt, and “our church. We don’t mean to be presumptuous, but subconsciously, we view things from the perspective of an owner.
The same is true of “our” children. From the moment they make their appearance, we tend to view them from the perspective of an owner…but we’re not. As with everything else that God places into our hands, the children He gives us are a stewardship. We have a responsibility to manage the human resources God places into our families in the persons of those precious kids. We do not own them. They belong to God. We have the wonderful opportunity to train and rear those cherished lives on behalf of the Creator and for His glory. The stewardship of lives transcends every other responsibility we will ever have…because it’s eternal.
This morning, two sets of parents, the Dommers and Heltons, are dedicating themselves to the task of rearing the babies God has given them “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. It’s our task as their church family to support them and give them the tools they need to be parents for God.