When you have one child, it is hard to imagine the capacity to love another, but God richly supplies. When you have two children, it is hard to imagine the capacity to love still another, but God richly supplies. His love is infinite, so we need not worry. In 1993 our third child was born. Susan and I joke that you find out what kind of parent you really are when you’re outnumbered. Karlyn is now a senior in high school and we love her so much. Over the past two years she has matured into a God-seeker. We pray as parents: “Lord, let our children know you and follow you and be filled with your Spirit,” but is this a safe prayer?
What if God says: “This child is mine; I have chosen your son/daughter for a great purpose…”? Would this bring joy to our hearts… or fear? When we consider some of the chosen in Scripture (Abraham, or Moses, or Joseph, or David, or Esther, or Mary, or John the Baptist, or Peter, or Paul) and then think of our own child being chosen by God, would we be tempted to say: “That’s OK Lord, you can choose someone else if you don’t mind…”?
The question may truly be: “Can we trust God with our children?” We believe deep down the answer is “yes”, but we also know that those listed above and many, many others endured difficult times. Jesus told Ananias regarding Paul: “This is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) Paul told us throughout his life: “It is worth any price to know Christ! Yes, you can trust God! Of course there will be difficulty as the kingdom of light shines against the kingdom of darkness, but suffering leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to character, and character leads to hope!”
We as parents must trust the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Hannah promised God that if he would just give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. God answered her prayer. He spoke to Samuel when he was a little boy and Samuel became the prophet who anointed kings of Israel and boldly delivered God’s word to his people. Hannah knew for a fact that her son was a gift from God and she trusted the Giver with the gift. Surely we can do the same.
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” I Samuel 1:27-28