A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life

A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life
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I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, –that unless I believed, I should not understand.-- St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Monday, March 02, 2015

Children: Not Our Choice, But God's Choice for Us

The procreative end of marriage is the way the church has maintained that one of the essential gifts of marriage is children. The term "planned parenthood" doesn't quite fit how Christians ought to have children, for children are not our choice as much as they are God's choice for us. Much harm has been done to children in our era through children being reduced to projects of the parents. Children are not our achievements, or our rights, or our projects. They are God's gifts. Of course, the gift of children is sometimes a gift that disrupts our lives, creating all sorts of anarchy. Sometimes our dull little lives need the gift of some divine anarchy. Christians know that our lives are not meant merely to be safe, therefore God gives us something more interesting to do with our lives than maintaining mere security. God gave us children

Moreover, children pull us into time, demanding that we make time to enjoy the sheer wonder of their lives in a world that too often denies children simply because, having become gods unto ourselves, we are too busy. The same God who created time, who entered time in the Exodus and in the resurrection of Jesus, is determined for us to redeem our time, to pass our time in important matters like caring for children, to witness to the world that, despite the uncertainties and terrors of tomorrow, God has given us the means to live into the future by giving birth to and raising children. One of the most moving testimonials to faith in God was the willingness of Jews to have children, even in the days of the Holocaust. Our openness to children is a witness to our faith that God, not nations, rules the world and writes the future.
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Stanley M. Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life, pp. 100-101.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Allan, thanks for this beautiful post.

In the last couple of years, the gift of divine anarchy has entered our lives again with the coming of three grandchildren, one of them due to be born in August.

One of our granddaughters was still in the womb of my oldest daughter when they joined me for prayer in front of a Planned Parenthood during a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.

To have children in these days of the holocaust of abortion is a moving testimonial and a powerful witness. Especially when they are raised to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Life, as were our daughters and as it now is with our grandchildren.

Thanks be to God for the wonderful gift of children!

bthomas said...

Agree. Thank you for this post.