The biblical illustration of children as arrows is a beautiful and apt description of healthy parent-child relationships. Like a master craftsman shapes an arrow for battle, so God gives children into our care to prepare them for their future. But notice children are “arrows in the hand of a warrior” (Psalm 127:4). Parenthood is a battle. Whether or not you recall the ‘application’ you completed before becoming a mom or dad, parenting is not for the faint of heart.

If there was ever a time to be sober and vigilant in the parenting of our children, it is today. Everything in our culture battles against the family, and especially against parents. The ‘giants’ of culture have arrayed themselves around our families—secular humanism, sexual perversion, identity confusion, digital addiction, drugs, and alcohol, to name only a few. These giants wait, eager to pounce on anyone they find. Our job, as warriors, is to defend our families.

We must take our role as parents seriously to resist the giants. We must stand steadfast in faith, and engage in our children’s lives so we don’t lose an entire generation.

Look at Israel. After Joshua’s generation—those who experienced God’s care in the wilderness and saw His works as they entered the Promised Land—died, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord (Judges 2:10-11). They “…served the Baals; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt…” (Judges 2:11-12). The people deeply felt the consequences of that sin, as nations rose up to plunder them. They lost land, lives, and livelihoods (Judges 2:12-15), all because of one generation “who did not know the Lord” (Judges 2:10).

 As parents, we must teach our children the ways of God, or, like Israel, they will perish. Our God is a generational God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He thinks and works generationally, yet, too often, we do not. We disengage from our role and allow our families to drift on the sea of life. But an arrow is designed to accurately hit a specific target, and parents are assigned to protect, prepare, and propel children into their futures despite the fallen world in which we live.

God created us to prosper, both children and parents, were designed to succeed in our callings. But success doesn’t happen by accident—it requires partnership with the One who gave our children to us. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” The word heritage here simply means gift—our children are gifts from God. They did not come from us; they came through us.

God entrusts children to us and He partners with us as we raise them in the nurture of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Psalm 127:5 says, “Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.” Yet many have quivers with just one arrow. AND they wonder what sin they committed to be punished with such a strong-willed, misbehaving child. But that is not what parenting is supposed to feel like. 

There are foundational truths from God’s Word that will equip us for the journey (and sometimes battle) of parenting. No matter what we face in this life, we do not fight our battles alone. Like David fighting Goliath, the Lord is on our side (1 Samuel 17). As we teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord, trusting Him through each stage of development—childhood, adolescence, adulthood—and engaging with wisdom and diligence, from a biblical worldview, God’s Word will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness in their lives. We will see our children shining as lights of God’s love and life in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15).

Building a family, like building a house, requires certain skills. It requires foundational truths that only God can provide. God set parents as watchmen over their children. It is extremely unwise for us to raise children independent of Him—we can’t actually do it. We lose sleep and eat the bread of sorrows. But with God’s engagement, help, and instruction, we can fulfill our assignment as parents. We don’t need to worry about our children or be filled with anxiety over them. We can cast our care on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7) knowing He empowers us in our parental responsibilities.

God wants us to experience peace as watchmen over our children’s lives, and the key to parenting peace is balance. Proverbs 11:1 (KJV) says, “A false balance is an admonition to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.” It is easy to fall in a ditch on either side of the road regarding the best method for effective parenting. Some parents are disengaged. They do not understand the importance of being vigilant watchmen for their kids. Others smother their children, even into adulthood, trying to control them through manipulation and worry. We need to avoid both of these ditches. Our partnership with God and His Word are the way to maintain balance.

To learn more about children as arrows, get a FREE sample of Duane Sheriff’s newest book Raising Godly Warriors: Building Strong Families in Today’s Culture. 

Go ahead and purchase the book Raising Godly Warriors: Building Strong Families in Today’s Culture, to be equipped with biblical strategies for training up your children as mighty warriors for God’s Kingdom. 

Better yet! Get Duane’s resource bundle for godly parenting, featuring: "Raising Godly Warriors" (full-size book), "Blessing Your Children in Prayer & Faith" booklet, and "Children As Arrows" booklet with a USB drive of teachings with the accompanying workbook. 

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