Babies

Babies! There is nothing a rancher on a cow-calf operation likes to see more than the pasture dotted with little red or black (or some combination of red, black, white, etc.) calves. So important to the operation are the babies, that early in the season, any cows that are not “with calf” will be quickly culled.

I noticed a brand new calf in a pasture on my way home the other day (there is something in these little calf babies that just thrills the heart) and wondered if there was a spiritual application in all of this.

The Bible does speak about being fruitful and multiplying. That was God’s command to Adam and Eve, speaking to populating the earth and bearing offspring. But Jesus also makes reference to bearing spiritual offspring when He directs His disciples (and us) to go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to observe all things that He had commanded them. This is basically a way of saying be spiritually fruitful and multiply- bring spiritual children into the Kingdom of God.

How do we do that? We simply tell others about the Lord and what He has done for them. We share how He has made the difference in our lives, and how He wants to make the difference between eternal life and death in their lives. Paul calls Timothy his true child in the Lord. He also refers to Onesimus and Titus as his children. Paul brought the gospel of salvation to these men, and the Great Commission was carried out. Paul then carried out the mandate of helping these men to “grow up in the Lord” by continuing to instruct them and helping them to mature in the things of God.

When we have a part in another being born again into the Kingdom of God, it is like having a baby. We become responsible to God and the person to help them grow and develop in the Things of the Lord- in knowledge and wisdom and being a true and faithful follower of Jesus.

As Christians, our lives should be producing fruit- the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the fruit of good works (Matthew 5:16), and the fruit of more children of God.

Seeing the baby calf made me think of people I have had an influence on. Are there any people that I have led to a faith in the Lord Jesus the Christ? Am I continuing to encourage them and help them grow and mature in God? Or did I just pray with them, “get them into heaven” so to speak, and then just figure that they would grow on their own?

It takes a lot of hard work to be a parent. It takes a lot of hard work to be a spiritual parent, too. Sometimes it presents a unique situation, because the person you are a spiritual parent to may not be a child (or in fact, may be a peer or chronologically older than you). Whatever the situation, in parenting, the joys of seeing a child mature and grow far outlast the discouragements and hardships involved in raising the “child”. It is important to remember that we have the Lord to rely on for wisdom, guidance and help.

Perhaps it is a good time to take a little inventory of our spiritual children. And if we can’t think of any that we have, it is never too late. Share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus through your life, your testimony, and whatever opportunities arise. Have a part in touching someone’s life with Jesus, and become a part of the great adventure of “raising” disciples in the Lord. It is worth it.

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