弓箭
父母有时会把孩子比作泰迪熊、公主，又或者是爱因斯坦。但你听说过像诗篇127这样，把孩子比作箭吗？这首诗篇将孩子描述为抵挡仇敌的护卫。这在古代是很重要的，我们直到今天还能看到它的好处。
比如，如果不法分子来偷窃或破坏你的财产，一个群体就能帮助保护你。拥有一个大家庭可以大大增加你的力量。正如这首诗篇指出的，在外面有辩护人也很重要，以防一些人试图毁谤你，哪怕你是清白的。在那个社会里，有两个或更多证人站在你这边，可以在公共场合为你的事辩护，使你不至于蒙羞。
这首诗篇在我们抚养孩子的过程中给我们敲响了警钟。我们必须有紧迫感，训练我们的孩子使用他们的天赋做正确的事，按照主的方式生活，祂是“建造房屋”的那一位（诗 127:1）。这一点可以指我们的家庭，也可以指我们信仰的家（即主的教会）。我们需要常常为孩子祷告，知道即使在我们睡觉的时候，神也藉着祂的灵在他们里面工作，磨练他们为祂的国度来服事。
你能做出怎样的改变呢？不仅是现在，也包括将来的几代人。
主啊，为了你的缘故，求你使我们有能力，训练儿女走在当行的道上，使他们世世代代常在你面前。阿们。
诗篇 127:3-5
3儿女是耶和华所赐的产业，所怀的胎是他所给的赏赐。
4少年时所生的儿女，好像勇士手中的箭。
5箭袋充满的人便为有福！他们在城门口和仇敌说话的时候，必不至于羞愧。
Arrows
“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.” — Psalm 127:4
Parents sometimes compare their child to a teddy bear, or a princess, or maybe Einstein. But have you ever heard of children compared to arrows, as in Psalm 127? This psalm describes children as providing protection from enemies. That was important in ancient times, and we can see its benefits still today.
For example, if outlaws came to steal or wreck your property, a group of defenders could help to protect you. Having a large family could give you strength in numbers. And, as this psalm points out, it’s also important to have defenders in court, in case some accusers try to ruin you even though you are innocent. In that society, having two or more witnesses on your side could uphold your case in the public court and keep you from shame.
This psalm gives us a wake-up call in the way that we raise our children. We must have an urgency in training our children to use their talents and gifts to do what is right and to live by the ways of the Lord, who “builds the house” (Psalm 127:1)—and that can refer to our household of family mem-bers as well as to the household of faith (the Lord’s church). We need to pray often for our children, knowing that even while we are sleeping (v. 2) God keeps working in them through his Spirit, honing them for service in his kingdom.
What kind of difference can you make—not only now but also for future generations?
Equip us, Lord, to train up children in the way they should go, for your sake, from one generation to the next. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
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