1. The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son and Zedekiah his son.

7 Reasons to have 1 more child!

From reading the genealogies of David’s family in 1 Chronicles, which kind of goes and then this son had these sons and then this son had these sons … the overwhelming idea that came to me was that of legacy, realising that my family, my faith (I hope) my impact will go on an on because of the sons Solomon’s legacy was continued.

I am from a family of 2 children and I have to say I am a convert to the idea of big families. And here are 7 reasons why…..

1. Children are a blessing / gift / reward / heritage from God (Psalm 127.3) They will be like arrows in the hand of a warrior (Psalm 127.4) Happy is the man who has lots of them, they shall not be ashamed, but will speak with their enemies in the gate (Psalm 127.5) This implies that your children will be walking alongside you when they have grown. (I fully expect that God willing I am raising a small army to plant Churches and Ministries with)

2. The more children you have, the more likely they are to have a larger amount of children and that will mean you having a great number of children, thus you should never be lonely when in latter years. Your life will be constantly filled with meaning and support.

3. The home is the number 1 training place for character, when you have learnt how to deal with life with a large family, you will be a far bigger blessing to the world around you in Fathering others.

4. For many people, a reason not to is wondering/worrying if there will be enough money to go around. I have come to realise that this excuse was actually a lack of trust in God, he is my provider and I need to remember that! (Also remember children don’t need the latest of everything, they need a Dad and Mum who care)

5. Large families are more fun, more entertaining, more characters, yes more challenge – but that’s gonna grow you Dad! There will always be others for your children to play with and when they are older (providing you have done well) they will always have these important close relationships – friendships after all do come and go!

6. Your children will grow up being far more social, because they are interacting with more people every day at home.

7. Yes think of the extra work in the early days (but that is what God gave us extra energy for) but when they are a little older there will be more hands to make the work lighter. When they have learnt the lessons you teach them, there will be a far greater pay back.

Obviously if you do not seek wisdom, do not learn to love and are generally not coping with the family you have right now, it would be pretty crazy to go for more children.

Though I believe if you’re reading this on a blog about raising the best Godly family you can then you are on the right track and may need to (like myself) be governed by faith and not fear! Leave a legacy!