Blessed Assurance

I’m still thinking along the lines of what are the things that a child, adopted or natural born, needs most. On a previous post I talked about a good inheritance. I am thinking now in the terms of the child’s immediate and day to day sense of well being and peace of mind.

Becky tells me that once when she was little girl, she got out of bed and found her Mom and Dad in the dimly lit kitchen slow dancing to soft music. She said that she remained hidden for several minutes, just watching, and enjoying one of the most joyous feelings that she can remember in her tumultuous childhood. There was a feeling in her heart that this is the way things are supposed to be.

I remember when our girls were little, and one of them would happen upon Becky and me in a warm hug. Almost without exception they would run giggling to us and begin inserting their self between us. We would cling closer together and make them struggle for a bit before they managed to get between us. They didn’t want to break up the embrace; they just wanted to be in the middle of it.

These reactions from children point to what I believe is the most needful element in a child’s psyche and that being the sense that they are under the protection of a covenant. They don’t know what a covenant is and they don’t have to. There is spiritual power in a home when the parents are truly covenanted together that resonates in the heart of the children bringing them peace and assurance.

I believe that this is the primary, but not the only, reason for Biblical prohibition of sex outside of marriage. Sexual intimacy can lead to a child coming into this world, and God’s ideal is, if that happens, that the child be under the protection of the covenant of marriage. Of course we know that we often miss God’s ideal standard. The good news is that even a single parent can give their child the blessings of a covenant by making Christ the head of their family.

Throughout the Bible, from Noah to Abraham, Moses, King David, and on through history God has instituted covenants. When ancient Jews made covenants with each other, they were binding agreements, usually assuring the safety and well being of the participants. When Jesus observed Passover with His disciples the night before His crucifixion, He said “this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.”

A couple can enter into marriage without a belief in God as part of the equation. Many will be faithful to their covenant for all of their lives. As you know by the statistics, or from personal experience, many more will not. A covenant is only as good as the power and ability of those involved to uphold their end of the bargain. Sometimes one partner tries their hardest and the other partner doesn’t. I can tell you from experience that neither I nor Becky had the inner strength to uphold our covenant before we entered personally into covenant with our Lord.

There are many things that we can’t guarantee our little “Daughter of China” that I wish we could, such as us staying healthy and active until she is a mother herself, or that we will be able to leave a wealthy estate to inherit. We are thankful though that we can be sure that she will have the security of a covenant. We are in covenant with the Lord Jesus and each other. With His help we can uphold our part of the covenant. Our little girl will have that blessed assurance.

There may be couples that read this who are about to be parents for the first time. It is an awesome responsibility that can sometimes be overwhelming. There may be fears that arise about what the future holds. We would like to encourage them, that this wonderful privilege of living in covenant is available to everybody. God wants every family to have the blessings of His covenant, and every child to have that inner peace that can be fully known only under the shadow of that covenant.

Ronnie