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April 2011 DevotionalI Own A Mansion
God has blessed my wife and I with ten children; six that God gave us through birth and four through adoption. At present we have twenty grandchildren and one of our sons just informed us that number twenty one was on the way. My wife and I count our children as blessings from God. The above verse says they are a reward from God but neither my wife nor I feel we've ever done anything worthy of receiving a reward. When I was a youngster of about 14 or 15 years of age, I learned a reading that went along with a song entitled "I Own A Mansion" "Now I don't own the finest home in town and the car that I drive is old, but the way the good Lord has shined down on me is more precious to me than gold. He blessed our home with children bright, and strong, and healthy, and when they hug my neck and kiss me, I know I'm really wealthy. For where on earth can money buy the happiness of a little girl curled up in your lap, or on a fishing trip with your boy. Why there's a man with money to burn that would give it all up just to hear the soft voice of his own little child saying his evening prayer. Yes I can fight the battles of everyday life and take trials and disappointments because there's one thing I've got no matter what, the love and devotion of my child. When one of my kids climbs up on my lap and says Daddy, you know what? What darling? I Love You." The tune that followed was this: "I own a mansion, I own the world, I own the heavens so blue. For my mind is at ease, with my kids on my knees, making my dream world come true." Psalms 127:3 says that” children are a heritage of the Lord”. It doesn't say they are an heritage from the Lord but "of" Him. They still belong to Him and they are just put in our care to be raised for Him. It really bothers me when I hear of children referred to as an accident, an in convince or not wanted. What an awesome privilege it is to be entrusted by God with such a precious gift.
Too often we wait until someone passes away. I went to the funeral of a young man who was killed in a car accident. Many people testified about what a blessing he had been to them and how God had used him in helping them in their Christian life. I wonder if he ever knew how they felt. Matthew 8:36 says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" I sometimes think of that verse with changing the last word to "child" What if I were to gain everything this world has to offer and I lost my child to Satan? There's nothing the world has to offer that means more to me than my family. I believe that when we learn to appreciate the special honor we have in raising children for the Lord, the interest in considering abortion will fade away. Remember "children are an heritage of the Lord" and rejoice in the privilege we have been given by God. Pastor Andrew K. Buhrow |
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward." (Psalms 127:3).
My wife and I have enjoyed our children in every age of their lives. As babies, they
were so helpless and dependent and they made us feel needed. The extra care they needed
with feeding and changing and holding was more than offset by their cuteness and
liveableness. (That's why we had several foster babies as well) As they started school
and learning it was a joy to see them develop their personalities and develop goals. What
a joy it was to cheer them on as they participated in sports and various other activities.
Even their teen years were a blessing as they learned to drive and took the responsibility
of working at jobs. Now that they are married and out on their own I am so proud of the
way they are raising their families and the priorities they are still maintaining.
Twice I've sat down and written a letter to all my children telling them how proud I am
of them and what I admire in each one. I didn't want to leave any doubt in their minds
about what I thought of them.
