How joyful are those who fear the Lord— all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be! Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear him. ~ Psalm 128:1-4
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| My Daughter, Cassidy Ellen |
If we fear the Lord, then we will follow His ways which will lead to JOY! So, the opposite must be true and that is why we see such misery and despair, such a quest for temporary satisfaction. No fear of the Lord=NO JOY. No obedience=NO BLESSING.
The Scripture tells us that we will enjoy the fruit of our labor if we fear the Lord and follow His ways. I see many who have fruit from their labor, but they are definitely not enjoying it, they are continually laboring over it or managing it. There is truly no joy in that and I would not call that prosperity!
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| A Young Olive Tree... |
To have children like vigorous young olive trees
is a blessing! I researched an olive tree. I have never grown one
(I've grown a lot of trees and veggies!). A good density of fruit on
each branch is required for productive picking. The way to achieve this density is PRUNING, or discipline. An unpruned tree will
have olives scattered in groups of one or two all over an untidy bush.
Such trees are costly and frustrating to pick. A primary objective of
pruning is to produce dense clusters that can be stripped off the tree
in great showers. So pruned trees (disciplined children) will produce
great clusters of fruit, rather than sparse groups that are inconsistent
and unmanageable. The
pruning of young trees follows two contradictory principles that must
be BALANCED. The first is to shape the tree into the form that, except
for frost damage, will be its structure for life. The other is to allow
the young tree to grow and build energy reserves. A determination to
form the perfect shape by excessive pruning will weaken the young tree
and stunt its growth for a number of years. Achieving the right balance
is part of the realm of art and talent that distinguishes the good
pruner from the heavy handed one.
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| My Daughter Courtney and my "new daughter" Ashlynn |
Our children require discipline, but this discipline must come from a place of love. Just as our obedience to God will not be fruitful if not from our heart, our discipline of our children will not produce a healthy fear if not done in love.
It is important to shape our children into what we want them to be. It's interesting that the olive tree is shaped first into what it will be for life. Except for frost damage...that is interesting to me. I have "frost damage". I was beaten and abused in every way a child can suffer misuse. BUT, it is not the structure for my life. That was "frost damage". I have been pruned and reshaped, molded into the image of Christ.
One of the important facts to emerge is that the olive fruit requires strong sunlight at every stage from fruit set to oil production. Olive flowers that are in deep shade will not set in large numbers. Those that do will not produce good levels of oil. Pruning is therefore needed to reduce the density of the foliage and allow sunlight to penetrate into every part of the olive tree. That will preach...We will not produce good levels of oil if we have dark corners.
"If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.” ~ Luke 11:36 OIL represents faith. We are the Light of the world because we are full of faith...the oil that lights the lamp.
The Word says that this is the Lord's blessing: children like vigorous young olive trees (Psalm 128:3). Malachi 2:15 tells us that what God wants from our marriages is godly fruit. Psalm 127:3 tells us that children are a gift from the Lord, a reward from Him...once again, a blessing. So why do we continue to slaughter the blessings of the Lord that are given to millions of men and women every year, 1.5 million to be accurate? We wonder why we have such meaningless tragedies plaguing our land...we have no blessing. We are under a curse. REVERSE THE CURSE! Abolish abortion in our lifetime. Let's begin to be a voice for those who have no voice. Following this horrible tragedy in Connecticut, I can't help but noticed that, even if briefly, the nation's heart is turned toward the value of a life. My question is this: If knowing how their lives would end, would these mothers have still made the same decision, to birth their children? Is it better to have your children for only 6 years or never at all? Is it worth it? Would it have been better for them to never have been born? Of course not...
If you could see the beginning to the end...the purpose and the plan...would you still make this permanent decision based on your temporary circumstances? God knows...ask Him for wisdom and He will surely give it to you.
Amen... I find it amazing how you connected what happened in Connecticut to abortion. This gift of understanding is magnificent. and you're absolutely right about the frost damage, it doesn't make us. Sometimes where the most shade is concentrated we can begin to forget its even there. Soon it becomes heavy laden and nonproductive. Eventually it may even die. By shaking it off and lifting face to the SON the shade loses its control and what was once barren bares fruit. Only through Christ though. He must be the cause AND reaction. Amen! I loved that sis. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting, DeLAYNA. :)
ReplyDeleteIts a lie that we "should let them find themselves". They need to find Him and we point the way.... My parenting was in the crapper for a bit at the end of our season without a "home". Through lost time with God I have lost the fruit of "being content in every situation"....It is definitely a new season, the "space" has widened for me. Not just more square footage, there is more breathing room, more quiet which I so desperately need, more peace with my children stepping outdoors....Parenting is becoming the true 1st priority that it once was for me. Man, it's a constant work once you really sign up. It truly is like shaping a tree :)
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