Psalm 127
Introduction
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it.”
Psalm 127 begins with a simple truth: if the Lord is not in what we are building, our labor is in vain. That applies to our homes, our families, our churches, and even our nation.
After the Revolutionary War, the American colonies had won their independence, but they still needed a government that could hold the new nation together. In 1787, delegates gathered in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention. They quickly found themselves divided over what that government should look like.
Benjamin Franklin, at 81 years old, rose during the disagreements and reminded the delegates how often they had prayed for God’s help during the struggle for independence. He said that the longer he lived, the more convinced he became that “God governs in the affairs of men.”
Franklin then referred to Psalm 127 and proposed that prayers asking for God’s help be held before the Convention’s daily business. His proposal was not adopted, but his words still pointed to an important truth.
Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.
We can work, plan, organize, and try to build everything ourselves, but ultimately our hope must be in the Lord.
Our Nation Needs Hope
Our nation needs hope. There are wars, economic concerns, natural disasters, uncertainty, and pressures facing young people that many of us never faced when we were their age. We can look around and find plenty of reasons to become discouraged.
But our hope is not ultimately in circumstances getting better. Our hope is in Jesus.
Years ago, I went through a time when I was deeply depressed. I could not even explain why I was so discouraged. I attended a conference where they taught different techniques and ideas, but those things were not really what helped me.
What helped me was hope.
Something about that experience reminded me that there was hope, and my outlook began to change. Maybe you have experienced that too. You were discouraged, and someone gave you a little encouragement. Maybe God sent a blessing at just the right moment that reminded you not to give up.
Hope can change things.
And Psalm 127 points us toward another source of hope.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.”
Children Are Like Arrows
I have not had a great deal of success with bows and arrows.
When I was young, I bought a little plastic bow and arrow from a dime store. I was proud of it and took it to show my cousins. Within about thirty minutes, the bow was lying in the yard in two pieces with the string between them.
Later, at Boy Scout camp, we went to the archery range. They asked whether I wanted a light bow or a strong one. Looking at the target in the distance, I decided I needed the strong one.
That bow was so strong that my hand trembled trying to pull the string back. When I finally released the arrow, it did not come anywhere close to the target.
So I am probably not the person you want teaching an archery class.
But Psalm 127 tells us that children are like arrows in the hands of a warrior. An arrow has the ability to go beyond the person holding the bow. In the same way, our children and young people can go places, reach people, and accomplish things for the Lord that extend far beyond us.
Sometimes we say young people are the church of tomorrow. I hope they are.
But they can also be the church of today.
A Mighty Force
I learned something about young people being a mighty force when I was in high school.
Being a freshman was not exactly the most honored position in school. There were some seniors who had a habit of grabbing freshmen by the feet while they were sitting on the tall gym bleachers and pulling them down.
One day, two seniors came into the gym and did it to a freshman. The boy was left sitting there with tears in his eyes.
The seniors walked away laughing and sat farther down the bleachers.
Then something happened.
The basketballs stopped bouncing. A group of freshmen gathered together. The seniors were not paying much attention as that group moved toward them.
Instead of going after the smaller senior, they picked the biggest one.
There were suddenly hands everywhere. They grabbed his feet, pulled, and down he came.
As far as I know, they never did that to another freshman again.
There is strength when young people come together with a purpose.
Imagine what can happen when young people give that strength, energy, and willingness to the Lord.
Children Used by the Lord
When my own children were in high school, I knew people would eventually start asking them that question young people hear all the time: “What are you going to do when you get out of school?”
A lot of young people do not know yet.
I told mine, “Just tell them, ‘I’m going to serve the Lord.’”
At the time, I was partly giving them something to say when they did not know how to answer the question. But today I can praise God that all of them are serving the Lord.
That is what we should desire for our children.
I once had a friend named Ralph Rice who worked with young people at church camp. Years later, he and his wife were in a store when a young man approached him and asked, “Brother Rice, do you remember me?”
The boy had grown up.
He thanked Brother Rice for caring about him and loving him when he was young. Then he told him that he was now working in the church himself.
That is encouragement for every Sunday school teacher, youth worker, parent, grandparent, pastor, and church member who has ever wondered whether investing in a child really makes a difference.
Kids grow up.
You may not immediately see what God is doing through the time you spend teaching them, loving them, praying for them, and pointing them toward Christ. But those children are growing, and God can use them.
Our young people are not merely waiting for their turn to become part of the church. They are part of the church now.
So let’s pray for them. Let’s encourage them. Let’s teach them the Word of God and give them opportunities to serve.
And young people, if God is leading you to do something for Him, do it. You do not have to wait until you are older to serve the Lord.
You can be one of those mighty arrows in His hand.
Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. But when the Lord is the One doing the building, there is hope for our homes, our churches, our children, and the generations still to come.