People see kids differently. Many see welcome members of the family. Some see an unexpected “accident”. Some see the carriers of the family name—and family business.

As a young dad, I got a glimpse of a different view of kids that changed me forever. It came through a song written hundreds of years ago by Israel’s King David. It’s found in Psalm 127:3-5 and says,

…children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them…

The imagery of children as arrows was very different for me and loaded with insight. I had a graphic artist personalize for me it and it’s hung in my office ever since. It’s helped me to see my children in several important ways.

A Child Is A Gift

It’s a tragedy when a parent fails to recognize the great gift they have been given in a child.

Too often children are seen as inconveniences. But David describes as them as gifts and rewards. He’s not saying they are payment for something we’ve done or will do. Many parents have never shown themselves worthy of a child.

When God gives a gift, it is far beyond the value of anything we could ever earn or deserve. The reward of a child, it isn’t for services rendered or because we are worthy. It is simply a free, extraordinary gift from a generous King.

Whoa.

A Child Is Filled With Potential

What may have been unexpected to you, wasn’t to God. I believe every child was created on purpose and for a purpose. No person was intended to be dead weight on this planet.

David chose to compare children to “arrows in the hand of a warrior.”

In the warrior’s hands, the arrow has a great deal of potential. When he picks it up, he has a purpose for it—a target—and he expects it to hit the mark when shot. To be effective in what it was intended to do.

It’s the same with our children. They are filled with God-given potential and hopefully, after 18-20 years we will release them so they can hit the mark for which they were created.

But, their future success is heavily dependent upon us who fashions and shoots the arrow.

A Child Is Our Greatest Responsibility

The master archer fashions his own arrows. You can’t just shoot any stick. An arrow must be straight, well-balanced, the right length, etc. in order to be effective. Children may be diamonds in the rough, but we have to peel away the rough.

The point is that if you take a haphazard approach to raising your children or leave it to someone else, they will not be as effective in hitting the mark intended for them.

That’s why I’m convinced there is no greater responsibility than stewarding the gifts God has given us. And it is a “stewardship” because they don’t belong to us. “Our” children have been entrusted to us. It’s our job to help them find their purpose and prepare them for the day we’ll release them to hit their mark.

And parents who have their quiver full of well-prepared children are blessed—happy, happy—people.

So, What Do You See In Your Child?

Perhaps we should see each child with a bit more awe and wonder as King David suggests.

See your child today as…

• An amazing gift from The King.

• An answer to a need in this world. Dr. F.W. Boreham, the renowned Christian author and essayist, said, “When God sees that in this poor old world a wrong needs righting or a truth needs preaching, or a benefit needs inventing – He sends a baby into the world to do it.” Don’t underestimate what God desires to do through your child.

• An arrow in the making. See yourself as that master archer, skillfully honing that child with precision for the day when you reach into your quiver and release him/her towards his/her target.