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Transcript 166A — On Being Childless
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: I have a question about childlessness. I'd like to know if God might want a couple to be childless in order to serve Him more, for the same reason that God might want a person to be single, in order to be free to serve Him more.
HC: The question concerns a couple who are not given any children by God. Could this be a very special act on God's part in order that they might serve Him more carefully? I think that's a fair possibility.
We know as born again believers that everything God does is perfect. We know from Romans 8 that all things work out together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. Now you correctly made reference to I Corinthians 7, where God indicated that a single person, in a real sense, is far freer to serve the Lord in complete abandonment than someone who is married, because his total focus can be on the things of Christ, whereas as a married person we have to be concerned about our husband or about our wife, and that takes a certain amount of attention. Likewise, if we have children, we can expand that, although the Bible doesn't really get into this in that detail. But if we have children, then our concerns are not only for our husband or wife, but also for our children.
And so if we don't have children, that does give us a greater freedom in the Lord than if we do have children, in that sense. I think, for example, of situations where people are called as missionaries, let's say, to a tribe somewhere. And many, many times the children cannot go along. They must be reared in a school far removed from where the parents are working. This is far from an ideal situation. And so if those parents are not given children by God, this eases their anxiety. It eases their ability to be totally involved in the work of God.
I think, for example, in a congregational situation, where many of us find ourselves, or all of us should be finding ourselves, unless we're incapacitated in some way. If we have children, we have to spend much time with our children. They are our first responsibility. If we don't have children, we can be concerned about the neglected children in our congregation. We can put them under our wing in a teaching ministry, or we are free to take the young people to an outing here, or an outing, which someone with children may have more difficulty doing, because of the age of their children, and the difficulties that go with it.
The same in other areas of ministry, spending time with the lonely and the aged, and whatever. Indeed, indeed, I would have to conclude that if God has not given a couple children, this can be a great blessing, in that it frees them for a greater service to the Lord in other ways.
CALLER: Thank you.
HC: Thank you for calling. Good night.