Arrows in Your Quiver
Dr. Tom Hufty
March 5, 2003
If you’ve been to a movie theater or have watched any television within the last two years, you have experienced a little of the phenomenon of the first two installments of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories of the battle between good vs. evil and the journey of the nine members of the “Fellowship” to destroy the ring and save Middle Earth are packed with adventure and psychological thrills.
My favorite…Legolas. The Elf archer, an expert marksman, makes him a valuable member of the Fellowship. His quiet demeanor contrasts sharply with his warrior-like skill with the bow and arrow. Every arrow that he shoots in rapid fire hits its intended target. His flawless and uninterrupted shooting motion is like watching a graceful ballet dancer. Legolas is always prepared for battle and you are glad he’s on your side.
The Psalmist described children as “arrows in the hands of a warrior,” and goes on to say, they will not fold when they are face to face with the enemy. In our world the enemy’s mindset is all around us. Our children are headed into battle and they must be prepared. God has given us, their parents, the responsibility to prepare them. If all parents would see the potential they have in their own children to change the culture, and be committed to train them, the entire culture could be transformed in one generation.
I remember one spring day when my eight year old daughter came home from school, walked through the door, announced she was home and headed to the kitchen for a snack. As was the custom of each day, she would come in, get a snack and then sit down with my wife and they would discuss the activities of the day. “Well, we started off with reading and after the teacher read to us she told us to get out our spelling book, and after spelling, we did math and then we went out for recess and everyone was playing kick ball, but I didn’t want to play kick ball, so Cassie and I sat underneath the tree, and we talked and I led Cassie to Christ and then we went inside for lunch and…” My wife immediately interrupted, “Wait Mackenzie, what did you say?” “Well, we started off with reading and then…” “No, No, what about Cassie?” “Oh,” she said, “Well Cassie and I didn’t want to play kick ball, so we sat down under the tree and we started talking, and I asked her if she was a Christian.” And she said, “she didn’t know what that meant,” so I said, “I mean have you ever in your life asked Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins?” She said, “No, what do you mean?” “So, I told her about how I became a Christian and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and how I know that I’m going to heaven because I believe He died for my sins and then I asked her, if she had ever done anything like that.” And she said, “No.” So I said, “Well, would you like to?” And she said, “Yes.” “So, I told her what I prayed and then she prayed what I prayed and then we went inside for lunch.”
Let me tell you what I learned from my daughter that day. Eight year olds can make angels sing. Age has nothing to do with being a witness. Eight year olds, can reach eight year olds, Sixteen year olds, can reach sixteen year olds, fifty year olds, can reach fifty year olds. I also learned that if we are going to change the culture, we must understand that we as parents are the most powerful people in the world. We can have the most influence on our culture, through our children who will touch a day we’ll never see.
Too many times I think we subcontract our children to be raised by others. We subcontract them to the school for their social and mental development, we subcontract them to the church for their spiritual development, we subcontract them to the local Y for their physical development. But through all this subcontracting we miss the opportunity to penetrate the darkness, if we don’t help them develop the skills of seizing the opportunities before them to impact the culture.
Children are a blessing from God entrusted to us to transform the culture. When we refuse to subcontract their development to others, and help them develop skills to stand for Christ and recognize the pitfalls of the world system, they become arrows in the hands of God to bring about a changed society and enlarge the Kingdom of God.
A battle for the very souls of society is raging and our children are on the front lines. Let us pray that their target is defined and their aim is accurate.
So, the next time you drive by a playground and see a couple of kids sitting underneath a tree with their heads bowed, think about the culture changing. And you might want to stop and listen to see if you can hear some angels singing.