Children are a heritage and reward
Happy Children’s Day!
Do you know why India celebrates Children’s Day on the 14th of November, whereas the rest of the world does so on the 20th of November?
It is because of Jawaharlal Nehru, affectionately called Chacha Nehru, who was India’s first Prime Minister. He passed away in 1964, but his birthday, 14th November, was declared Children’s Day.
It was a tribute to his deep love for children and his vision for their education because he saw children as the nation’s greatest treasure and its brightest hope for the future.
I’m not sure if he was aware, but he was communicating a profound and Biblical truth, found in Psalm 127:3 NIV :
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him.
Children are precious not only because they carry the future, but also because, in their innocent wonder, they embody qualities that we, as adults, often lose.
Little is needed for Children to be consumed with wonder and amazement–a small gift, an unexplainable trick or an unexpected surprise and their eyes open wide in awe.
That’s the kind of reaction God desires when we look at Him: childlike wonder.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. – Psalms 33:8 NKJV
I’m reminded of a story of a little girl who, after watching her father mend a broken toy, gasped in delight: “Daddy, I think you can fix anything!” Her awe could not be contained.
Like that little girl, we can look at God in awe and trust Him as the One who truly can do anything.
King David embraced such a childlike wonder in Psalm 8:3-4 NIV :
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
Take a moment today to pause and stand in awe of the goodness and greatness of God.
