DRY LAND AND SPRINGS OF WATER Joshua 15:15-19, “From there he went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher). Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife. When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What’s the matter?’ She said, ‘Give me another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.’ So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.” Caleb had given a gift to his daughter. She must have been very happy and grateful for the gift. But her joy was not complete. Her father had given her dry land, and for her blessing and the resultant joy to be complete he needed to give her some springs of water also. She went on to make her request to her father and it was granted. As parents we want the best for our children. We want to be there for them, protect them, give them the best in life, have the joy of knowing that they are successful in every area of life, etc. In fact, many parents (some of whom are born again Christians) say their children are their reason for living (which is extreme and makes you wonder what they were living for before they had those children since no one has ever come into this world carrying sons and daughters in his/her hands). But that is their own way of expressing the importance they attach to their children. As we take care of our children in the areas of education, clothing, feeding, etc. many of these children have a silent longing that goes unnoticed and unfulfilled by the parents. It is a longing to be connected with the Fountain of living waters; a desire to be satisfied with the Bread of life. This longing can be conscious or unconscious. Unlike Caleb’s daughter who knew exactly what she wanted and went to request for it from her father, many of today’s children know that something is missing from their lives but do not know exactly what it is. Therefore, they do not know how to express their feelings to their parents. Many have questions to which they seek answers but do not know that what their soul is actually seeking for is God. Thus you see many children even from Christian homes whose hearts are deeply troubled even though they have the best of anything that money can buy. Unfortunately some of them look in the wrong places for answers to questions they have never voiced out. You may have been taking your children to church; you may even be having family devotion in your home but without really giving your children the exposure they need to the things of God. You need to show them how to walk in and with the Holy Spirit. This may involve spending time with each individual child in addition to family study time. You may have a busy schedule which includes doing a lot of things in the church of God. But as you teach and groom others in the way of the Lord you should never forget that your family is your first mission field. You will eventually find out that the time you invested in developing your children spiritually was not wasted. On the other hand, do not overdo things. Many children from Christian homes have grown up to hate and rebel against God because of their parents’ excessive strictness and the rigorous Christian practices they made them go through. Making young children fast and ‘pray’ several days a week, making them believe that it is a sin for Christians to smile or show happiness or excitement, dressing them in shabby clothes in the name of making them ‘set their affections on things above and not on things on the earth’, and other such practices could be counterproductive. You may end up making those children develop inferiority complex and a bitter spirit. When they eventually gain ‘freedom’ from their parents children who are raised in that manner sometimes end up worse than a lot of children from non-christian homes. Many of them do not even want to have anything to do with their parents because they see them as agents of sadness and sorrow. Let the children have some fun. It is possible to do very well spiritually and at the same time enjoy the good things that God has made available. What you need is the wisdom of God. Caleb gave to his daughter both dry land and springs of water. You too can do the same to your children. We could consider as ‘dry land’ the things of this world that are necessary, valuable, esteemed, significant and rewarding but have no eternal value. Give to your children as much of these things as God helps you to. You should also give them Jesus, the Spring of living waters (John 4:14) and Source of eternal life (1st John 5:11).
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 05:02:52 +0000
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