Psalm 127 says that only God can build houses that will last and as a corollary to that only God can keep our cities safe. Nations are families write large, and therefore, strong families make for strong cities and nations. And Psalm 127 says that only God can do that.
But notice that it doesn’t say that when God builds, we don’t have to work or guard. No, the point is that God is the One who makes our work fruitful. God is the One who makes our watchfulness affective. In both cases, people work and watch; the difference is between the work that is actually fruitful and the work that is worthless – the difference is between staying awake in a way that actually guards the city and the kind that just makes you exhausted and the barbarians still take over.
So this Psalm is about the kind of work that actually builds houses and families that last, and the kind of watchfulness and care that actually keeps cities and nations safe and prosperous. And the secret sauce – if you want to call it that – is children. The Psalm says, behold, children are the inheritance of the Lord.
That isn’t the Psalmist changing the subject. He hasn’t presented the challenge of building houses and guarding cities and then randomly pointed out that children are really cute.
No, the point is loaded in the word “inheritance.” An inheritance is the wealth and resources that are handed down from one generation to the next for building houses and cities. An inheritance is sometimes a house or a car, a business or property or savings or investments. But the whole point of an inheritance is to give new generations a head start. And here it says that God’s inheritance – and notice that – this is the inheritance that God gives – the wealth and resources that God gives to His people. He gives them children. He gives them more people.
People are made in the image of God. That means that there is nothing in all of creation as valuable as people. Nothing in all of creation reflects the glory and creativity and potency of God as much as people do. So how does God build houses and guard cities? He gives His people children. The work of raising and training children and watching over them, is the work that God wants His people to do in order to build strong houses and have safe cities.
That kind of work is not worthless work because children are like arrows; they are reinforcements. They are weapons and resources for building and guarding. And happy (or blessed) is the man who has a full supply of them. And here’s how you know God is still talking about houses and cities: He says those children will grow up and stand with you in the city gates speaking with your enemies.
Now, this is a wedding, and some of you might think I’m jumping the gun a little making all this fuss about children, but first off, I can assure you that there are parents and grandparents in the front row who don’t mind me talking about children at all. And second, as we noted at the beginning of the ceremony, one of the central purposes of marriage is children.
And as it turns out, children are multipliers. That’s one way you could summarize Psalm 127: children multiply your labors and make them actually fruitful. Children are reinforcements. But that means that children will multiply whatever it is that you have as a husband and wife.
This really is an encouragement when you’re in the trenches and things seem desperate or difficult. When you’re laboring diligently trying to keep your 4 year old out of the state penitentiary, and you fall into bed exhausted at night and you glance over at your exhausted spouse and grin and give each other a fist bump – if the spirit between you and your spouse is sweet like that, if you are in joyful fellowship, then be encouraged: what you are giving to your children is joyful fellowship.
Of course there’s also a warning: if you’ve read a bunch of parenting books or attended conferences about Christian parenting but there’s tension between you and your spouse, if there are harsh words and bitterness, then the warning is: watch out. There’s a good chance you are actually passing all of that bad juju on to your kids. Nothing against parenting books or conferences, but joyful fellowship with God and one another is the central thing. All the methods and techniques are only as helpful as the peace and joy you share.
And so, we are establishing a new house today – a new Christensen house, and this means that we fully expect God to bless this house with His favorite wedding gift, His inheritance and reward of children. But in order for that to be the blessing it is meant to be, you must be establishing a culture of joyful fellowship now. As you have heard many times and have seen in your own households growing up, this is only possible when you both are committed to confessing your own sins and forgiving one another – keeping short accounts. Christians are not people who do not sin; Christians are people who know what to do about sin. And what we do is confess it, turn away from it, and forgive it.
Abe: you are being assigned the task today of being the lead builder, the foreman on this house project, but that will only be a blessing if Jesus is the Master Builder, the General Contractor overseeing the whole thing. You are being given the responsibility, but part of taking responsibility is understanding that this will only go well if God is active on your job site. This means that you must continue seeking Him with all that you are, and wherever you fail, making it right quickly. Mistakes don’t get better by pretending they didn’t happen. Mistakes get better by owning them and making them right. Loving a woman as your own body is an assignment that is daunting to every man, but it is the kind of assignment that makes you a better man. Loving Lillian means laying your life down for her, which does not mean doing whatever she wants, but it does mean doing whatever she needs, as defined by the Word of God.
Lillian, you are being assigned the task today of being Abe’s Assistant Site Manager. Your task is to help Abe carry out the instructions of the Master Builder Jesus Christ. Abe is ultimately responsible for executing the plans, but you are responsible for helping him. You do this by honoring him and making his home a warm and welcoming place. In the beginning, God gave Adam the mission of taking dominion over the whole world, and God gave the woman to Adam because he needed a helper that was suited to him. You are being given to Abe as his helper, and that really is a great glory. Respecting an imperfect man will not be easy, but it is a potent ministry that will making building your house a lot more affective. Just like Abe, when you fail at this work, the next most important work you do is making it right. Confess your sins, seek forgiveness, and stay in fellowship.
As you both do this you will already begin building a house that God is building, and we trust that in His good timing, He will bestow on you a beautiful inheritance, arrows and reinforcements – making you fruitful in every way.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
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