Closer to a Quiver Full

I read an article on the Washington Post web site reporting that the fertility rate in the United States has reached a thirty-five year high, climbing to 2.1 babies per household. At this pace, the article announced, the United States has solidified a position alongside other industrialized nations in reaching a sustainable population rate. To put the number in perspective, during the height of the baby boom the number of births per family reached 3.8 and during the mid seventies it reached a low of 1.7 births per household. Strangely enough the article did not mention the affects of legalized abortion on the numbers. But it did credit our nation’s “religiosity” as one of the factors promoting the fertility boom.

The Bible tells us children are a gift and a reward from God, (Psalm 127:3). Because God is pro children, Christians should be pro-children as well, whether that is in the valuing and protecting them prior to birth or nurturing and caring for them in an increasingly anti-children culture.

But how does a person know how many children to have? Is hitting the average at 2.1 a good place to start, or stop? Numbers might work well for national averages but every married couple should seek the Lord to direct the size of their family. Start with Psalm 127:3 and move on from there.

Here’s a little evaluation exercise to consider. How many birthday gifts do you want on your birthday, or presents at Christmas? If you are like me, you want more than a few. Children should be received as gifts in the same way, as gifts to be celebrated throughout life. The goal, the psalmist says, a quiver full, (Ps 127:5). We don’t carry children in quivers but we do carry them in minivans. Maybe that’s a great translation of the text: Blessed is the man whose minivan is full of them.

When we consider that each child is a gift from God, not a right to have, and that there are many families who would long for more children but simply haven’t been able to conceive, we should think about this question as far more than a lifestyle choice. Two point one is an acceptable national average, but our posture should be, ‘Lord, whatever number of children you would have for me, I will receive them as a gift’.

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