Bill Johnson - Raising Giant-Killers: Releasing Your Childs Divine Destiny Through Intentional Parenting

T HE IDEA OF RAISING OUR CHILDREN to be giant-killers may seem too violent a metaphor for some and too farfetched for others. But for me, it is an extremely accurate description of parenting, at least for those who want to raise their children with eternal significance.

The psalmist accurately described this challenge and privilege with these words: Behold, children are a gift of the L ORD ... like arrows in the hand of a warrior... (Psalm 127:34). This passage reveals the two primary parts of being a mom or dadthe joy of receiving the gift of a child from God, and the sobering responsibility of training the child for significance. The parent who values the gift will benefit most from its impact.

In biblical days bows, arrows, swords and spears were the primary tools for warfare. A warrior would much prefer dealing with an enemy at a distance with an arrow to doing hand-to-hand combat with a sword or spear. The point is, the bow and arrow were preferred instruments of war. The warrior had to have a sufficient number of arrows in his possession if he was going to engage the enemy with any measure of confidence. And those arrows had to be tried and truefully capable of functioning according to their design.

This psalm gives us an unusual insight into the measure of confidence parents have in spiritual warfare when they have raised their children with eternal purpose. A child functioning according to his or her gift and design wreaks havoc on the powers of darkness. This is a side benefit to raising children correctly. Just as wise business leaders know how to make their money work for them even when they sleep, so it is with parenting. Our investment brings a return long after our children are out of our direct influence and focus. Raising children correctly brings spiritual dividends to our whole family line, even after the children are raised and out of the house.

In The Passion Translation, Psalm 127:5 reads this way:

Happy will be the couple who has many of them! A household full of children will not bring shame on your name but victory when you face your enemies, for your offspring will have influence and honor to prevail on your behalf!

Perhaps a word of caution is needed at this point: Children are not tools to be used for personal gain. In a sense, they are not even ours. They are on loan from God, and it is our responsibility to steward correctly Gods treasure in a way that pleases Him. Doing this right brings long-term benefits and influence on our family line for many generations.

Born into Conflict

We were born into a war. Every one of us. Even Adam and Eve were given the assignment to subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28), implying that there was disorder outside the Garden of Eden they lived in. They were given the responsibility to manage and expand the boundaries of that Garden until the whole earth mirrored its order and beauty.

Eden was the place of perfect peace and beauty. If the whole earth had become like the Garden, then God would have taken back a place of chaos through those made in His image, who functioned in relationship with Him. Living joyfully under Gods influence, they were the ones who were to rule. As such, they carried His authority as His delegated ones.

Adam and Eves sin disrupted the plan for peace and order that God had intended for the entire planet. Instead of subduing the earth, they were subdued by the one they obeyedthe serpent. Then Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man to accomplish on our behalf what we could not do for ourselves. As such, He is called the last Adam . The first Adam brought death into the world. The last Adam brought life: