In case you think I’m the only one concerned with a biblical thinking about fertility, a reader sent me the link to an entire series on Family Life Today who is addressing the very same thing! I’m thrilled to see the Christian community daring to trod this ground.
I am sometimes accused of meddling; people don’t think we should talk about something as private as fertility. If that’s the case, then it would need to go both ways. We shouldn’t be suggesting how a couple can be intimate without conceiving. To me, that’s a lot more intrusive than simply expounding on the Scriptural concepts of children.
On the show, Dennis Rainey mentions a few key points:
“The issue of children is about more than just reproducing…”
“Christians must be clear-thinking about our approach to fertility….”
“The starting point–the frame work must be in place. And that is that God is the originator and author of life. All life is sacred.”“We must have a God-like view of the sacredness of life.”
This has been my point the whole way! I’m not trying to intrude, or condemn or meddle; I’m trying to break through the thick veil that has been placed by a society who does not really love children. (Planned Parenthood is the driving force behind the common acceptance of birth control. I can assure you, they are not building their business with a biblical frame work!)
Christians are FREE, yes indeed, to make decisions before the Lord. But first they must even be aware that this topic is not something to be taken lightly, not something for which we can take our cues from what the culture is doing, and not something to be apathetic about.
I don’t think Christians are living quite enough on purpose when it comes to exercising discernment and wisdom. It’s interesting that the “but God gives us wisdom” argument is so commonly used on this subject, but how many of us are indeed using wisdom to search out the topic? (God doesn’t *give* us wisdom by the way. He only gave us the capacity to think. We must GET wisdom. See Proverbs.)
Even more scary, I think, is that the whole notion of “Lordship” is becoming a bad word in the church. The notion that there are biblical principles to govern every detail of our lives is being challenged and pulled down as dogmatic and legalistic.
One more irony of the gospel…to be FREE, I must be a SLAVE. Gotta love it!
Well, I didn’t mean for this to be so long. Be sure to listen to the show and share your thoughts! I’m not through the whole thing yet.
5 comments
You said,
“Christians are FREE, yes indeed, to make decisions before the Lord. But first they must even be aware that this topic is not something to be taken lightly, not something for which we can take our cues from what the culture is doing, and not something to be apathetic about.
I don’t think Christians are living quite enough on purpose when it comes to exercising discernment and wisdom. It’s interesting that the “but God gives us wisdom” argument is so commonly used on this subject, but how many of us are indeed using wisdom to search out the topic? (God doesn’t *give* us wisdom by the way. He only gave us the capacity to think. We must GET wisdom. See Proverbs.)
Even more scary, I think, is that the whole notion of “Lordship” is becoming a bad word in the church. The notion that there are biblical principles to govern every detail of our lives is being challenged and pulled down as dogmatic and legalistic.”…
This is the truth. I look back over my life and I am ashamed at so many things that I did not consult Gods will on. I have been a product of going along with what the “christian community” was doing. I’ve let other christians influence me. This should have not been. I should have researched so many life/marriage issues biblically and found wisdom on the topic. Kelly, you said God gives us the capability for knowledge. That doesn’t nessesarily mean that Wisdom and Understanding is already there. God requires us to GET it. In Proverbs 4:4-6 it says, he taught me and said,
“Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
And listen to this starting in vs. 20:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
I encourage everyone to read the whole chapter. This is GOOD STUFF!
I have recently came to understand that about 95% of what we encounter on this highway of holiness is addressed in God’s word. The other 5% is not black and white in scriptures, God intentionally left it that way because it will be things that effects individuals depending on their calling/disposition/circumstance. BUT, the problem we have today is that we tend to use this 5% area of “God convicts me differently that you” mentality to affect the other 90%. Does that make sense? (We can find explicit instructions from the word of God for the 90%) We have to get widsom. With fear and trembling, we have got to work out our on 5% INTENTIONALLY, through the work of the Holy Spirit. We have got to read the word and pray, groan in the spirit about this 5%. Don’t take it lightly. It’s detrimental. Don’t take someone elses experience as your own, in this 5%. It’s unique between you, your family and your Savior.
You hunting down GODS Word not mans, you getting lost in the Holy Spirit so that He speaks to you in an unadulterated/intimate way will always TRUMP any blog whether it is LAF or True Womanhood.
In the short time that I’ve been reading this blog, I have been able to see through the controversies and even the various subject matter to know there is a common thread that Kelly is trying to get people to see. And God bless her for that. Her desire and mine as well, is to cry out to fellow sisters and tell them they don’t have to be held prisoners in today’s Godless culture, or todays Laodicea church culture. You CAN find freedom! Just tune out what’s around you and tune in God’s infallible word and the working of the Holy Spirit. Let God be true and every man a liar.
just wanted to clarify that I made a mistake in my above post…anywhere I said “90%” should have been “95%”. I also used this ratio (95/5) as an example to get what I was trying to say across in a clear way. Sorry!
Oh I definitely want to hear this!
I must say I love FamilyLife and I love to listen to it online quite often while tackling my laundry.
I agree with you that the modern church has totally abandoned the nion of self denial and losing one’s life in order to save it- both things Jesus said are necessities to inherit etrnal life.
The result? A church that is indistinguisahble from the world and families in as bad a shape. Worse shape really because we are in denial as well as dysfunctional. The Bible does indeed point out how we are to live day to day, though most American Christians would say that it’s not the case.
If I have to sit through birth control commercials on prime time television, you (and the radio) are allowed to talk about the other side of it.
I am so sick of these tacky commercials where a 25 year old woman prancing around her apartment flings shopping bags onto the bed and then her boyfriend walks through the door and they embrace to some female folk song while the advertisement for the latest in hormonal BC fades onto the screen with some idiotic tag line like, “Take control of your happiness”.