Large Families

Recently five men from our church were sitting in a circle, discussing family issues. I commented, “We five are the fathers of 39 children.” Obviously we don’t represent the average family heads. But it does remind us to view our children from God’s perspective.
The record for the most children in modern times is tied at 69! The one in South America had to chase her children away so she had room for the next ones. She even named some the same as older ones because she ran out of names! 
It is surprising to me how few large families of monogamous marriages are found in Scripture. I haven’t worked it out, but the average seems to be about the same as the world average today, which is 2.25 children/woman of childbearing age.
If God entrusts a couple with many children, this is first His blessing, according to Scripture. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3-5) Surely no one would go to war with one or two arrows. This is obviously speaking of the joy of a large family. The next Psalm speaks of the blessed man as, one whose wife “shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”
But the care and training of a large number of children is also a tremendous responsibility. Each child has individual needs for love, affection, instruction, and discipline. Each child is an individual creation of God with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. They simply cannot all be treated the same. A father and mother will need time to learn what God gave them and train him/her according to his/her natural bend. In short, each child adds exponentially more responsibility onto the parenting task.
One of the most famous large families of a past generation was the Gilbraiths (Cheaper by the Dozen). Frank wanted 12 children for the express purpose of showing that a home could be run like a well-oiled machine. In contrast the Biblical home is not a machine but an organism, a God-ordained unit that is to be God-centered in every way.
I have known a number of large families over the years. Too often I have seen Christian parents view their many children with either pride (Our family is ‘in your face’ to Planned Parenthood) or as Frank Gilbraith did, as only a unit, and not as individuals. Sadly I have rarely known a large home where all the children grew up to honor the Lord.
The care and training of many children is a daunting task. How kind are the single adults or those with few children who are aware of these pressures and who offer assistance whenever possible.
Many children can bring multiple honor to the Lord when trained properly. But they can also bring multiple shame if neglected.