When My Child Grows Up…?

Every mom yearns to know what her child will do in the future: My toddler loves to play doctor; will he grow up to be an M.D.? My eight-year-old is so theatrical; will she be on Broadway someday? My middle-schooler  is the best basketball player on her team; will she play college ball? Even before you have a child, it’s fun to let your imagination run in giddy circles, thinking of all the places your child will go; all the achievements he will add to his name.

This is what the parents of Samson, Manoah and his unnamed wife, some of the last remaining faithful children of Israel, did when an angel of God came to Manoah’s wife to tell her she would bear a son (Judges 13). This is much more than any of us have received from God: a message from an angel, telling you to bring your child up as a Nazirite, for he would begin to deliver your people from the oppression of the Philistines! What a blessing and honor.

But Manoah wanted details. The angel had appeared to his wife after all, not to him, and he needed to hear it for himself. So he asked God for another visit from the angel, and God, in His infinite patience with His children, sent His messenger back to deliver the same message, this time to the husband and wife. Now, Manoah already knew what his wife had told him, but he needed more, so he asked the angel, “What shall be the boy’s mode of life and vocation? (Judges 13:12)” Basically, what specifically do you mean he will deliver our people? What will be his business and his achievements; how will he live?

Isn’t that such a familiar impulse? It’s not enough to experience the here and now and be thankful for it; we need to know more about the future! The angel only gave Manoah and his wife enough information for now: how to handle the pregnancy and the first few years of the child’s life. That’s usually all God wants us to know: what we can do today to do His will. As parents, isn’t that all we can ever do, too? Make good decisions for our children today, and leave their future in God’s hands: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Tomorrow has its own tantrums, chores, and dirty dishes. Let’s just focus on today.