Nothing is Innocent

There is something about holding a baby for the first time that makes us gush with emotion. Babies often represent simplicity and, more especially, innocence. It is easy to see babies as adorable and pure because of their newness.

The law concerning child birth in Leviticus 12 forces us to confront a difficult reality, however. As beautiful and precious as babies are, they are still born into a sinful world. There is not a place on earth that we can take them which will hide them from the grip of sin. There is not a place on earth that we can take them which will hide them from the grip of sin. There is no amount of instruction that we can give as parents which will prevent our children from sinning. It does not matter where or how we raise them; people are born to sin.

God is not punishing women here for giving birth. God uses this as a process for reminding women, as the primary caregiver, that even an innocent baby has a sinful nature. Henry Law writs, "Its properties are guilt; and guilt alone can be imparted by it. From Adam's fatal passage into Satan's realms, each child is Satan's bondslave. Each birth now propagates corruption. Hence she, who bare, is warned to bend, as bullrush in the valley. She must sit solitary as unclean."

Raising children is a heavy burden, and the knowledge that our children are doomed for destruction should bring us to our knees. That is why the best thing we could ever do for our children is to pray for them. Thankfully, we serve a good, gracious God. He hearts our prayers, and He responds to them.

Living Life