On January 21, 2025, Marie had the opportunity to share a live Zoom presentation with supporters of Lutherans for Life. Entitled, "Kids, Culture, and Christ: Illuminating LIFE in Contemporary Times," this presentation delves into the Biblical paradigm of children as blessings, dives into reasons why many of today’s millennials avoid procreation, and finally suggests some solutions for Christians and the Church in overcoming the these hesitations, pointing others back to Scripture’s truth that children are blessings. Marie's presentation can be viewed by following the link, or read in the blogpost below.
View Marie's Presentation Here.
Thank you, Pastor Salemink, and Lutherans for Life, for having me as a speaker this evening. Lutherans for Life has been an important part of my life as a mother, educator, and pregnancy center volunteer for over a decade now, and it is a great privilege to join you all in Life Week 2025.
I’ve entitled my presentation Kids, Culture, and Christ: Illuminating LIFE in Contemporary Times, and this is based on the prompt I received, namely “Life Shines in Children.” At first, this might sound like a mistake. “Doesn’t she mean ‘Light shines in children?’ But, this isn’t a mere slip of the tongue: in fact, Holy Scripture blends the concepts of light and life, particularly in Christ Jesus, as seen in LFL’s theme verse this year, from John 1: “In [Christ the Word] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”1
This very verse was on my mind not long ago. I had driven up a hill at night and looked out over the city of Casper, Wyoming. People from large cities might not think much of the twinkling lights of little Casper, population 60,000. But it is actually one of the largest cities in Wyoming! Most of Wyoming is a vast uninhabited wilderness, a wilderness to which I am still nervously adjusting after having moved here last year. But that night, as I looked out over the city lights, I felt safety and comfort—here, indeed, is civilization! These businesses and homes all represented life. Beyond those lights, the prairie, horizon, and sky, all was darkness, emptiness, loneliness. But, here? Here, I see lights, and where there is light, there is beauty, hope, and life.
The same is true about children. Our contemporary culture devalues children. When was the last time you heard a positive news story about a large family? In fact, when was the last time you even saw several children playing together outside, besides at a fenced-in public school playground? If you do happen to come upon children outside their home or school, how often are they staring at a screen, rather than interacting with others? You are probably more likely to find a dog than a child in the shopping cart at the local store.
More than merely hidden away from normal adult routines in daycares and schools, or “babysat” by electronic devices when at home, America’s children are actually becoming less and less common. The Centers for Disease Control reports that, “The general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low.”2 According to statistics from the United Nations, the fertility rate in the U.S. has consistently been below the replacement level of 2.1 live births per woman since 1971, with exceptions only in the years two thousand six and seven.3
The world may disdain and deride children, but Christ’s Church does not. In this presentation, I’d like to first spend some time speaking about the Biblical paradigm of children as blessings, then dive into reasons why many of today’s millennials avoid procreation, and finally suggest some solutions for Christians and the Church in overcoming the these hesitations, pointing others back to Scripture’s truth that children are blessings.
The best foundation for thinking about children as a gift from God is, of course, to study the Bible. Let’s begin with a jaunt through the Old Testament, jump to the New Testament, and then tie those lessons together with some general takeaways.
Aside from the narrative arc of the promised Savior given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, the general Old Testament attitude toward children considers them riches. As Moses established God’s covenant with Israel before entering the promised land, he describes not only the agricultural growth that would come from obedience, but also the “blessings of the breast and womb” that God would bestow on these families.4 Later, Solomon extolled the blessing of children in Psalm 127: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”5 In the very next Psalm, the imagery of the blessing of children shifts from a well-equipped warrior, to a bountiful garden: “[Y]our children will be like olive shoots around your table. … May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children's children!”6 Note that seeing one’s grandchildren was considered prosperity.
Continuing in the Old Testament, I find Proverbs 30:15-16 particularly fascinating: “...Three things are never satisfied, four never say, ‘Enough.’ Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, ‘Enough.’” The natural condition that God has built into a woman is a wholesome desire for children, and whether she perceives that desire or not, when it is thwarted (whether by her own will or God’s), she will be as dissatisfied as the hungry grave, the thirsty drought, and the destructive wildfire.
A resurrection motif is found in the Old Testament, and it trickles into the New. The Scriptures only record a handful of resurrections, and about half of those are of children. In the Old Testament, there is the raising of the son of the Widow of Zarephath by Elijah7 and the raising of the son of the Shuna-mmite Woman by Elisha.8 In the New Testament, Jesus raises to life the young son of the widow of Nain,9 as well as Jairus’ daughter,10 and Paul raises Eutychus back to life11 after his literally mortifying fall. From Genesis, through Judges, and into the Psalms and Proverbs, we see God’s great love and compassion for children.
And then, there are even more examples in the New Testament! The Old is fulfilled in the New with the Christ-child. We confess summaries of Luke One and Two in our Creeds, that Jesus Christ was made incarnate through conception by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was the promised Christ, the very seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3. The Only Begotten Son of the Father, by Whom all things were made, deigned to take humanity into His divinity by becoming a child to save us. And this began not when He was born in Bethlehem, but nine months before, while He dwelt inside of the womb of Mary, multiplying cell by cell, floating in amniotic fluid, and putting aside His miraculous power, all out of love for you, for me. His conception and life in the womb gives dignity and value to each and every life, old or young.
Jesus affirms life’s value into His ministry as an adult. The touching account of Jesus blessing the little children from Mark 10, read during the Rite of Holy Baptism, is emblematic of children as treasures. But the same Savior who so gently and tenderly blesses those babies also issues a stern and sobering warning in the prior chapter. Mark 9 reads, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”12 Jesus is dead serious about protecting children.
However, Jesus’ warning has a beautiful flip-side that can comfort even adults. Even adults are truly God’s children. God has created hedges of protection in the relationships He has set up for us on earth. Think of concentric circles: pre-born babies in wombs are protected by the bodies of their mothers; those very mothers are meant to be protected by husbands (and fathers); newborn babies are meant to be born into loving and caring families; babies, parents, and families all are meant to be surrounded by the body of Christ in His Church, the Bride who cares for her members. Children and adults, women and men, are all God’s children, protected by the Heavenly Father, and there are grave consequences for the unrepentant who tempt or hurt or harm us. What love the Father lavishes on us! How safe and protected we all can feel in His Church.
Beyond being gifts, children also illustrate spiritual things. Jesus had a lot to say about them! We must become like little children to enter His kingdom. Those humbled like little children are great. And, He gives His angels charge over children.13 We’re all guilty of seeing children as burdens at times, not through the lens of the angels who perceive them as beautiful gifts. Yet, Christ Himself forgives, pouring Himself into His Sacrament and deigning to be present with us sinners. We thank and praise God for the gift of His presence in our midst, for the gift of children, and for His mighty angels watching over us and our children!
There are certainly many more Scriptures regarding the value of children, but we’ve now reviewed a few key passages and can make applications. What are some of those blessings children bestow? Aside from their inherent value, children’s very vulnerability and helplessness reminds us adults of our spiritual state before God. In your baptism, you could do nothing. It was entirely God Who rescued you from the depths of sin and put His name upon you, making you an heir of His kingdom. Kids also help us adults to daily see our own frailties and failures as we parent them. We see their temper-tantrums, and we are reminded of our own stubbornness before God. But more importantly, as we care for children, we see clearly our own inadequacies. We are confronted with the need to repent, cling to forgiveness, and pray for God’s mercy as He calls us to parent these beloved children, or rise up and support the parents in our congregations.
Another Scriptural lesson regarding children is that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways.14 God declares that children born in one’s youth are blessings, not burdens. What other blessings would we ask God to avoid giving us now, but maybe later we’ll want? It is truth that God’s blessing of children might exist amid sufferings like health struggles or poverty, but it ought not follow that these are reasons to forego God’s gift of children.
So, why not have children? What are the barriers that today’s young men and women experience that keep them from embracing God’s gift of children? As I’ve pondered this question in preparation for this presentation, three major reasons come to mind. The first is physical incapability. The second is selfishness. And the third comes from godly, but misguided concerns.
Let’s take a look at that first reason. There’s something strange going on in America. Are fertility issues due to micro-plastics affecting sperm counts, hormones in foods and medications, something else? I certainly don’t have all of the answers. But those falling fertility statistics I mentioned earlier are not all due to people using contraceptives or having abortions. Some couples desperately desire children, but aren’t given them. The CDC reports that 26% of women* have difficulty getting pregnant, and 19% are infertile.15 That’s an incredible 1 in 4 women struggling with fertility! Back when I was newly married, I think it was only about 1 in 10 women. In addition, an estimated 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage.16 There are many hurting couples out there.
If you, or someone you love, is experiencing fertility concerns, please know that you are loved by God and needed in the Body of Christ. A precious child is a joy beyond description, and God’s withholding that gift is a near-unbearable sorrow. Yet, with or without a child, God gives you countless opportunities to love and care for your neighbors in your congregation and communities. God has given me a bounty of children, but I myself have no mother here on earth to encourage me spiritually in this marathon, nor to support me physically with meals or babysitting. My husband and I might look like we have it all together when you see us in the pew on Sunday morning, but you don’t know the many tears of loneliness I shed for no mother to call when my little guy loses a tooth, my baby girl takes her first steps, or when my teenager begins to talk to me about marriage. Parents, and congregation members of all ages, find themselves lonely or stressed for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you in your longing are the one whom God intends to comfort and sustain others.
Children are a gift, but gifts ought to be received, not gotten or grabbed through any possible means. God does not give us all possible means to become parents, but rather only moral means. I say this, preaching also to myself. I’ve given birth to nine children, seven of whom still live with me on earth. Although I have been so richly blessed, I still struggle with contentment, my womb crying, “Never enough.” At 41 years of age, I desperately desire one last child from the Lord before He closes my womb and this stage of my life that has given me so much joy, hope, and fulfillment. So while desiring the blessing of a child is good, I must also be careful not to create an idol out of that desire. The Bible warns us of this in the lives of many of the saints. Abraham and Sarah began to worship their own timeline of fertility and committed adultery by bringing Hagar into their relationship. And in Genesis 30, we find Laban’s daughter reprimanded by her husband’s stinging, but true, rebuke: “[Rachel] said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I shall die!’ Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’”17 Do not fall prey to the temptation that your plans for your life are better than God’s plans for your life. Certainly, we can attempt to restore our bodies to alignment with God’s design when they fail, but we must never bring to life only to kill, as is so often the case with many infertility treatments. I commend the writings of Mrs. Katie Schuermann to anyone suffering from the desire for an ungranted child.18 Her books He Remembers the Barren and He Restores My Soul share Biblical wisdom and insight.
I have just barely touched upon the first reason many do not have children, namely infertility. It is a serious and weighty topic. But I want to transition to a second reason, and that is selfishness. Certainly, Christians fall into the sin of selfishness, but in this discussion, I’m going to focus on non-Christians, delving into some of the cultural reasons young people today often avoid family formation.
How many of you have seen the 1968 hit movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” starring Dick Van Dyke? In it, a family travels in a flying car to the fictional country of Vulgaria. The “child-snatcher” is commanded by the child-hating queen to dispose of all children. Vulgaria is practically absent of children, and although some still exist, they must be hidden away from society. Of course, Dick Van Dyke saves the day, setting free the children locked in the catacombs under the castle, and they soon get their revenge on the royal family by making mischief of all sorts. All ends scrumptiously in this fictional tale, but not so in America, which resembles Vulgaria in many ways. I once went into a grocery store on vacation with an infant in a front pack, and a fellow shopper noticed him and exclaimed, “It’s a baby!” as if real children were as rarely seen. Fast forward a decade later, and COVID hid children away from schools, stores, and even playgrounds, supposedly for their own good. America’s growing invisibility of children was reinforced when I recently paged through an issue of Better Homes and Gardens and found only two ads that pictured children. Exactly 50% of those ads featured a dirty child with hands covered in disease-spreading germs!
The truth is, we can all admit the fact that having children keeps you from doing what you want. But, this can be a good thing, helping us develop virtue. Yet many of today’s non-Christian young people wear selfishness as a badge of honor. Idolizing oneself is actually trendy in American “spirituality.”19 I mean, just Google celebrity quotations on childlessness. Actually, don’t. It’s very depressing. And angering. And, of course, abortion “rights” play strongly into the “choice” to never have a child, all the while these women participate freely in child-conceiving fornication. There’s even the emerging “4B” movement,20 spreading to America from South Korea by liberal feminists in the aftermath of Trump’s election last November. The “B” is slang for “no” in Korean, and in order to punish the patriarchy, these women swear off dating, marriage, sex, and children. While aiming to exercise control over their lives, they will sadly just end up hurting themselves, dying lonely and alone. Many empowered women think America has advanced from ancient times, but considering that there have been over 63 million abortions since 1973,21 I’m not sure we’re really doing better than the pagans who practiced child sacrifice to appease their idols.
The truth is selfishness leads death, and to a dearth of virtues needed to parent. But there’s also a cuddly distraction from parenthood that Satan is exploiting to deflect attention from the joys of children. I’m going to get on my soapbox here, and risk offending many of you with this rant. What is this ominous thing? One word. Ready? Pets. You might think I’m joking, but I’m actually kinda serious! You know that Better Homes and Gardens magazine that only had two ads featuring a child? Well, it also had 5 different ads appealing to pet owners! I’m willing to grant that dogs and children can co-exist, and many pet owners have the right attitude about children. However, more and more often, pets are taking the place of children, (shallowly) filling the hearts of young couples.
"Did you know there are currently more households with pets than with children?”22 "As of 2024, 66% of U.S. households own a pet. … In fact, 97% of pet owners consider their pets to be a part of their family. … In Wyoming, 41.0% of dog owners spend more money on their dog's health and grooming than they do on their own."23 I see this trend in my every day life: the local bank now offers not just suckers for children, but also doggie treats. Animals even seem to be treated like celebrities by their owners, who in some cases, don’t even require polite behavior like “Sit!” or “Stay!” Can you imagine the reaction if I let loose my toddler in public, and she randomly jumped on strangers and sniffed their crotches?! And yet, that seems commonplace for dogs! Owners smile and say, “Don’t worry. She’s friendly!” as their German Shepherd knocks down my 6-year-old human. Is it any wonder he is afraid of dogs!
In a blogpost about pets, three professionals were asked, “Is it wrong to treat your pet like a child?” The unanimous answer was a resounding, “No. There is absolutely nothing wrong with treating your four-legged baby like your regular baby.”24 Except that it’s not a baby! The BBC asks, “What is a woman to do when she prefers to live a childless life but feels the yearnings of motherhood? Get ... a furbaby, and mother it.”25
Can a pet bring joy and happy hormones to its owner? Certainly! But, is it as valuable as a child? I won’t even condescend to answer that. It should go without saying that even as a blessing, animals do not have the inherent value or offer the fulfillment that children do. Okay. My pet-rant is over.
But I do want to encourage serious consideration that whatever internal yearning people have directing them to the keeping of critters might instead be directed toward caring for our human neighbors in godly ways. The selfish avoidance of children and the substitution of pets for parenting, while primarily cultural, can quickly and creepily sneak into Christian hearts and minds, especially through peer-pressure and social media.
In that same BBC pet interview, a woman admits real concerns about being a real mother. She says, “Being able to give a [human] child all of what it needs – I really feel like I can’t do that.” This brings me to a third reason some Christians avoid bearing children: It is a great responsibility. We have not only the physical concerns that the world shares, but also the spiritual concerns of raising a child in the fear of the Lord. Christians rightly think parenthood is too big of a job to handle on their own. But, thanks be to Christ, we aren’t on our own; we have God and His Church to support us on the journey.
I’ve had dozens of conversations in person and online with Christian women about fertility over the past few decades. Many say Christian couples should be good stewards of their fertility. You’ve probably heard it yourself. The “good stewardship” argument is often invoked by people who want to rationalize their choice to limit their family size. But, could good stewardship ever mean doing nothing? In the case of fertility, I believe it can. This may seem counter-intuitive, but stewardship of fertility does not necessitate that a couple should choose if or when to bring children into the world. God has already programmed the natural stewardship of fertility into the human body with cycles and seasons of fertility. God commanded Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Be fruitful and increase in number,”26 and He built into them the general ability to do so. It’s the “pro-choice” culture, not Christianity, that makes children into choices—how many to have? when to have them? whether to have any at all? It is simply dehumanizing.
While financial and physical struggles may be pressing for a couple, in the Bible, there are numerous passages about God’s providence—how the children of Israel were told to have children, even as slaves in captivity, how God will open His floodgates and pour out on us abundantly.27 Luther lists food, clothing, and shelter together with spouse and children under his definition of “daily bread” in the Fourth Petition. I recently saw an interview on TV with a woman from a poor third-world country, trying to explain to a British reporter that people in her country did not want the contraceptives sent by first-world countries, because they saw children as true riches among the squalor of their poverty-stricken lives. The book Ladylike points out, “When a child is brought to His font of rebirth, the Lord and Giver of life … sees not another college tuition or carbon footprint but another saint bought with Christ’s holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”
As part of this conversation on stewardship, sometimes people argue that newlyweds need time to build a strong marriage before children. My husband and I were counseled as such in premarital classes! But truly, there’s nothing like children to bond a couple together! If a couple is seriously not ready for a child, they should consider postponing their wedding date. After all, God designed intimacy to lead to babies: A married couple should never really be “surprised” to be pregnant. Many couples who avoid a honeymoon baby later long for elusive babies. Fertility is precious. Life is precious. Babies are precious, no matter when they are conceived. Don’t take them for granted.
Certainly, Christians desire to be good stewards of every aspect of their lives, but that in no way necessitates that they must “plan” their family or make use of contraceptives. I encourage Christian couples who do have legitimate worries to speak with their pastors about their circumstances. Sometimes there are exceptions to the concerns I’ve raised. But exceptions are not the rule. It ought to be the norm for young married couples to eagerly expect children.
A second argument I’ve often heard for foregoing a family is that having children (or not) is completely in the realm of Christian freedom for a married couple. But, many Christians are unaware that hormonal contraceptives can cause physical harm, which suddenly places birth control out of the realm of Christian freedom, and into 5th Commandment territory. Hormonal contraception works through a number of mechanisms, including making the womb hostile to a newly conceived baby if ovulation and conception occur, forcing an abortion prior to the mother knowing she had conceived; the package inserts admit as much. Some doctors deny this, but will admit that the definition of pregnancy has now shifted to beginning at implantation, not conception. Further, oral contraceptives are carcinogenic, like tobacco and asbestos, yet they remain the most frequently prescribed medication in our culture for 50 years running.
Christians ought to have a healthy skepticism regarding even non-hormonal methods of contraception. Even when a contraceptive method doesn’t risk breaking the 5th Commandment, it may break the 1st and/or 6th Commandments. Sterilization is correlated with several health concerns, but even more sobering is that the surgery is performed in order to damage the body that God has created well, not to repair something in the body gone awry. Barrier methods place a physical blockade between a husband and a wife during the very activity in which they would otherwise demonstrate their one-flesh union, as if they need protection from one another! Temporary abstinence methods can be especially frustrating for a woman during the time in her cycle which would otherwise be the most satisfying. Because every method of birth control has physical or emotional side effects, it shouldn’t be surprising that the divorce rate for those using birth control is nearly 50% versus merely 5% for those who don’t.28
Imagine if the Jewish families in the line of Christ would have used these so-called “godly” excuses to prevent pregnancy. Rahab and Salmon maybe needed to save up for a down-payment of a house before having kids? Perhaps Ruth and Boaz wanted more time to get to know each other before starting a family. By God’s goodness, He provided a Savior through their line, regardless of human selfishness. And, out of thanksgiving to Him, we can generously welcome children into our families and churches.
We’ve spent some time this evening considering reasons why many young people are not starting families: Many more than we might expect are experiencing infertility. Our culture is selfish, and sometimes that rhetoric permeates even into the church. Some Christians are misled that foregoing children is good stewardship, or at the very least, neutral in God’s eyes. But, how can the Church, how can you, help shift those perceptions? Let’s talk about some concrete ways you can do just that.
Of course, this topic could be a presentation in itself. But there are three things I’d like to touch on tonight: encouragement, education, and support. Before delving into these topics, however, I want to reiterate that as we consider family formation in our own congregations and extended families, we shouldn’t presume to know a person’s reasons for not having children. Even those who offer an excuse for not yet having children might be bluffing all the while they suffer the heartbreak of infertility. So, as you encourage, educate, and support those around you, do so with humility and Christ-like love.
God uses fertility not only to grow individual families, but also to grow the Church. There are many easy, practical ideas to accommodate families in church. Creating relationships in your congregations will better help identify ways to encourage families around you. But, the following may be some simple, yet impactful ways individuals and congregations can support and encourage Biblical attitudes toward children. Consider your evening service times and if they are conducive to families. Are whole families welcome in activities, rather than only age-segregated groups? Are members tolerant and appreciative of childish noises to be expected in worship? During corporate worship, is there a way to assist parents? Ask and see. Sometimes well-meaning items like a kids’ bulletin, a bag of toys, or a sugar-laden treat can be a distraction rather than a help. As the Church universal, we are literal family members in the body of Christ, and we need each other, especially with so many extended families today spread across the nation.
Another way to encourage is through your words. Sometimes, unBiblical impressions can be given through casual phrases, such as “oops babies,” congratulating someone when they are “done” having children, or comments teasing if a couple “knows what causes that” when they announce that they are pregnant. Certainly, we each have the responsibility to be gracious with comments like these, but be aware that these sorts of things don’t fully speak God’s truth. Want a sure-fire positive conversational phrase? “Children are a blessing from the Lord” is always a great one! Going further, find something you can praise the family about: “Wow! Your little man is so enthusiastic about singing!” or “Look how darling she is in that frilly dress!” Families want to feel welcome in church, especially when it was a hard service for them to get through.
Also, be willing to invest time and energy in young couples or families as you are able. One of the easiest ways is to consider your own passions, and offer to engage others with it. Good with a camera? Offer individual and family photos. Love to bake? Bring them some muffins! Love to go for hikes? Offer to bring a few of the children along with you.
You or your congregation might also consider how to help encourage young families financially. Consider holding baby showers for your members or for the local pro-life clinic. Perhaps the congregation could help support homeschooling families or music lessons for future church musicians.
Educating the next pro-life generation is another way to demonstrate the life that shines in children. Encourage opportunities for continuing education in your church. Lutherans for Life makes this so easy with the many resources they have, including Youth 4 Life resources. Continuing ed could be as simple as taking a few moments to discuss a Lutherans for Life brochure or video at the end of a Bible class. Does your church subscribe to the free Life Date magazine and Life News bulletin inserts? Members can also receive free Life News weekly email updates. The more resources you have, the better informed you will be, and the more naturally God’s truth can flow in conversations.
Pastors needn’t be afraid to preach about children being blessings from the pulpit, as well as teaching the dangers of contraceptives in Bible class, all the while relishing their special privilege of sharing Christ’s abundant and forgiving love! Catechize the children and young adults of your congregation, as well as their parents, to desire children, knowing that the world will instead tempt them toward the culture of death. Pastors should also be aware of immodest and unBiblical sex-ed curricula taught at public schools (and even some private schools), and instead help train parents to have tough, but fruitful, pro-life conversations with their children. These are all great opportunities to engage in the battle for life against the spiritual forces of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.
Certainly, a single church cannot provide all of the encouragement or educational ideas I listed above, much less a single individual. But, each and every one of you can pray. You can support the pro-life cause with your humble prayers, and with financial gifts to charities such as LFL or your local pro-life pregnancy center as you are able. You can pray for the children and couples and young families in your congregation and encourage them with a smile on Sunday morning, and help in little ways. With God’s blessing on our prayers, educating, and encouragement, the children and families of our churches are in good hands.
Whether your own family is big or small, each of us has at one time or another despised God’s gift of children in thought, word, or deed. But, we find comfort and forgiveness in our Savior, God’s Son, the Baby Jesus, Who lived a perfect life on our behalf and died an innocent death and rose from the dead. Heaven is yours! This is a very hopeful time in the Lutheran church. There are abundant resources for young families, including Lutheran books available from CPH and Kloria Publishing, teaching tools from LFL as mentioned earlier, as well as a growing number of resources my husband and I have written, such as devotional books for mothers, homeschool curricula, and LFL’s Teaching Children Chastity for Life. As individuals and congregations, we desire not only to teach these things to the next generation, but also to equip the next generation to teach the next generation the beauty and gift of children. The church points to the words and promises of Christ, looking ahead to that day when “the generation to come might know [God’s wonders], [t]he children who would be born, [t]hat they may arise and declare them to their children.”29
As I wrote this presentation, the sun was setting out my window, and I saw some of those twinkling lights of Casper emerging, full of life and hope, like a world full of children. I was reminded of my little son whom I caught staring out the window into the darkness not so long ago. I asked, “Are you waiting for Daddy to come home?” Without raising his eyes from the dark window, he immediately lisped in all seriousness, “No, I’m watching for Jethuth to come back!” No matter how darkly our culture derides, or even hides, children, let us as Christians eagerly watch for, wait, and expect Christ, and in the meantime revel deeply in the gift of bright life shining in children, for Christ is their light, and His light shines the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.30
Notes:
1 John 1:1-5
2 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2024/20240525.htm
3 https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2023/highcharts/data/dubina-chart3.stm
4 Deuteronomy 28:4
5 Psalm 127:3-5
6 Excerpts from Psalm 128
7 1 Kings 17:17-24
8 2 Kings 4:18-37
9 Luke 7:11–17
10 Luke 8:49–56
11 Acts 20:7–12
12 Mark 9:42
13 Matthew 18:10
14 Isaiah 55:9
15https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infertility.htm (married women ages 15-49 who have never given birth)
17 Genesis 30:1-2
18 https://katieschuermann.com/books/
19 https://www.jstor.org/stable/23918114
21 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abortions-since-roe-v-wade
23 https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/
24 https://www.purewow.com/family/wrong-to-treat-dog-like-child
26 Genesis 1:28
27 Malachi 2:15a
28 http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Feb/17/short-condensation-does-birth-control-pill-cause-a/
29 Psalm 78:6, NKJV
30 John 1:5
Marie K. MacPherson is a wife, mother, and baptized child of God. She is a CCLE certified educator, writer of curriculum, and author. Marie has published Meditations on the Vocation of Motherhood, Volumes 1 (2018) and 2 (2023), Mothering Many (2016), and Lutherans for Life/Concordia Publishing House booklets The Story of Baby Shalom and Teaching Children Chastity for Life. Her Bachelor’s Degree is in Elementary Education, with a specialty in Communication Arts and Literature and Synod Certification, from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. A life-long learner, Marie enjoys graduate courses from Memoria College’s Great Books program, and coaching speech team students in the progymnasmata and rhetorical devices. Her husband Ryan teaches at the collegiate level and also is the president of The Hausvater Project. Together, they home school their seven children. Visit their website at www.intoyourhandsllc.com
