<\/p>
Ecclesiastes 4:8: There was a certain man without a second, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, and for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure. This too is vapor and a grievous task. <\/p>\n
Children are a blessing from the Lord, the Psalmist tells us, and that blessing is multi-dimensional. There are many direct practical benefits to having children. Because we have children, we have extra hands to mow the lawn, paint the shed, set the table and clean the bathroom. Because we have children, we will have assistance in old age. Because we have children, our name and family will continue into the future after we die. These are all very real blessings. <\/p>\n
As we saw in the sermon this morning, Solomon points to a more subtle benefit of having children. A childless man, without second or son or brother, has no one to work for, no one with whom to share the benefits of his labor. He works himself to death, and for what? But a man with children can say that his work is good, because his labor and deprivation benefits them. Having children gives our work an orientation, a purpose, and a goal that it wouldn\u2019t have otherwise. <\/p>\n
These are all mundane facts of human life. Solomon is right: Children motivate our work and force us to take responsibility for others. These facts may not seem very spiritual or religious. But Christianity does not cancel out these patterns in the created order. Grace, theologians have always said, does not destroy nature but restores it. God\u2019s shows grace not so that we can transcend this life, but so that we can live this life the way it\u2019s supposed to be lived. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s what infant baptism is about. Infant baptism does say something to the child who is baptized. Infant baptism is a personally addressed promise from God: You are my child and I am your God. Trust Me. <\/p>\n
But infant baptism also has broader implications, and in fact is a ritual expression of an entire worldview. Infant baptism is a ritual sign of this faith that God restores and doesn\u2019t destroy nature. When we baptize an infant, we are saying that grace restores nature. When we baptize an infant, we are saying that all human life, from cradle to grave, is renewed by the grace of God. When we baptize an infant, we are redeeming all the mundane benefits of having children, folding them into the life of grace. Everyone who has children is blessed with someone to work for; but when we baptize our children, we are saying that this blessing is part of living and maturing as a believer. <\/p>\n
For parents, working for the sake of our children is one of God\u2019s means for molding us to Christlikeness. Every parent changes diapers, but for Christian parents this is practice for living like Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve and to give His life for many. For children, it becomes a way of learning gratitude for all the unearned and unearnable benefits they receive from their heavenly father. Every infant receives food that he didn\u2019t work for, but for a Christian child this becomes training in a life of thankfulness. For both, infant baptism means that all of life is sanctified, all labor can be done for the honor and glory of God. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ecclesiastes 4:8: There was a certain man without a second, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, and for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure. This too is vapor and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology-liturgical"],"yoast_head":"\n