The Bible calls children “arrows in the hand of a warrior.” (Ps 127:4) If you are the warrior (you are) and your kids are arrows, then what could that mean for today? Every day is an opportunity to fashion/mold them, sharpen them, prepare them, AIM them, and release them in some way.

1. We mold them by lovingly correcting them.
2. We sharpen them by consistently instructing them in God’s Word.
3. We prepare them by thoughtfully engaging with them in conversation.
4.  We aim them by giving them godly guidance.
5. And we release them by entrusting them into God’s hands at the various stages of their lives.

Shape, sharpen, prepare, aim, and release.

God’s Word also teaches us repeatedly that kids are a heritage and a blessing. They’re not a distraction from important things, they are important!

We spoke with some very wise parents recently (Matt and Lisa Jacobson) and they said something profound: “Children are never in the way of what God is doing in the world. Children ARE what God is doing in the world.” So true… but too often, we treat them as distractions from something greater and more important.

The world tends to push kids to the side as incomplete people or lesser contributors to society. Jesus shows us a different way. He told his disciples to let them come. He calls us to have faith like them. He welcomes and loves them. He is not annoyed or impatient with them. He stops what he is doing to teach us to be LIKE them (Matthew 18). May we follow Jesus’ lead with our own kids.

Let’s not let the distraction of doing steal from the blessing of being. Be with your kids. Mold, sharpen, and send them. Doing so requires two distinct levels of trust. First, we must trust that our worth isn’t determined by what we do or accomplish when it comes to our worldly ambitions. Second, we must trust our kids into the hands and plans of God.

So, what if your greatest contribution to God’s Kingdom is the children you raise? Let it be so and your contribution will be mighty indeed.