And she conceived again and bare a son, and she said, Now will I praise the Lord; therefore she called his name Judah, and left bearing. Genesis 29:35
Someone who came to visit our Assembly was remarking about all of the babies among the young families. Those babies usually make their presence apparent during the meetings, so it’s not hard to tell that there are babies about. The visitor remarked that many Assemblies would love to have a little baby noise during their meetings, because they don’t have any young families or any children for their Sunday school. Judging by the attention a new baby receives when the mother first brings it to a meeting after birth, babies are cause for admiration and thanksgiving. They are also a cause for praising the Lord, as Leah noted in our text today.
All Leah wanted was for Jacob to love her as much as he did Rachel. Her husband wanted sons, and Leah did her part, producing six sons to Rachel’s two. But if she had been able to peer down through the centuries, she would have had greater cause to rejoice. She could have seen that Jacob would prophesy that Judah’s descendants would become kings. She could have seen that Judah’s descendants David and Solomon would rise to the thrones of mighty empires. And she could have seen that from her tiny baby would one day come the King of Kings. Leah saw none of that, of course. But she saw potential, and she rejoiced and worshipped. Mothers today should also rejoice and worship at the potential of each precious baby that arrives. So should we all.
It’s not easy to praise the Lord for a baby who is fussing loudly during a solemn Gospel meeting or who shouts or laughs during the quiet of the Lord’s Supper. But those tiny people are not intentionally being disturbing; they don’t know any better. Maybe if we spent as much time praying for those little ones as we do criticizing them, we’d see more of them saved and in Assembly fellowship as time goes on. And praying for the babies and children among us is the responsibility of everyone in the Assembly, not just the parents and grandparents. Do we see the potential in the little ones? If we did, we would have more to praise God for.
A missionary who served in Africa said he always gave a prize to the mother who brought the youngest baby to each meeting. Appreciating the children among us will help us to become the loving, caring, nurturing Assembly God wants us to be. -Jim MacIntosh