Shooting Arrows

Native Americans were literally outgunned when Europeans arrived on the scene, but for centuries they had made war against each other and hunted with bow and arrows. It's a primitive weapon. Yet it was a tool that was treated with pride. Every hunter knew how to make his own weapon. It was an art form, not unlike weaving, basketmaking, or silversmithing.

This post is not just a history lesson, but we'll get to that later. First you need to understand a bit of the process.

Native Americans (and I'm sure other cultures that relied on bow and arrows) knew how to walk through the forest and choose the right kind of wood. Depending on what was available, they might use ash or hickory or even antler from a large animal. More than that, though, they had to choose the right part of the tree, a piece of wood strong enough and yet flexible enough to withstand the force of pulling a bow string, which was usually made of animal intestines.

The arrows were a real testament to artistry, though. The shaft needed to be perfectly straight -- straight as an arrow -- or it wouldn't fly. It needed to be well-balanced. Each hunter chose his own fletching, the feathers at the end that make it fly. All of this took great skill and many years to learn, and the older men of the village taught the younger.

But I promised you this would be more than a history lesson.

Raising Godly children is a bit like making arrows. God Himself started the process by choosing the right child to match the right parent. Have you ever thought about that? God gave your child to you because He knew you were the perfect parent for that child. You possess something he or she needs to thrive in adulthood.

God chose the wood, so to speak, but now it's your job to shape the arrow. Make it straight. A straight arrow will fly true, hit its target, sway neither to the right or the left. "Train up a child [a]in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.} Proverbs 22:6

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:6-9 We won't get into binding frontals on foreheads, but the principle remains: make Scripture part of everyday life: when you're rejoicing, when life is hard, when you need guidance. Your children will see it as the expected thing, and guess what? Scripture in your life will change your life in the process!

God chose the wood. You'll do the shaping. That's discipline, softly removing the burrs and imperfections. Because the arrow needs that in order to fly true. So do the children. "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11

The arrow also needs to be well-balanced in order to fly. This is my personal opinion, and I'm not sure it's in Scripture necessarily, but children's lives need to be well-balanced, too. Some sports, where they'll learn teamwork and good sportsmanship. Some chores, where they'll learn how to live within community -- read: they learn to not be selfish! Academics, because I'm a former teacher. Earning money, specifically so they can learn to give and save. And of course, every day Scripture and prayer. I think we do our children a disservice when we focus too much on one thing.

Feeling overwhelmed? As they say: it takes a village. Older teach the younger. That means, of course, you're teaching your children, and you want other godly adults pouring into your children's lives as well. But it also means you have access to mentors, right there in the same row at church, people whose children are slightly older than yours, or completely grown. Ask for help. Ask for advice. They made it -- they can either tell you what worked or what didn't!

What is the arrow's job, when all is said and done? To make war against the enemy and to provide for the community. Is a child's job so very different, when all is said and done? When they are grown, you send them out to fight our Enemy, the Enemy of our souls, and to live in community with other believers, to worship, to pray, to encourage, and to share the gospel.

You, as parents, are shooting arrows at the future. What a privilege! Be encouraged. It's a hard task, but God chose you for them. You exactly the right one for the job!