Daily Bread 10-18-18

Luke 2:23

(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

ref. - Ex 13:2 - Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

In this day all male children had to be presented to the Lord. It was not an option, it was the law. The intentions and will of God were that all male children were created to be holy. As we have learned in the New Testament, there is neither male nor female, bond nor free, in Jesus Christ. So we can also see that he has created all mankind to be holy. But, just as in this scripture Joseph and Mary were taking Jesus to the priest to have him dedicated to the Lord, so must we also be presented to the Lord. This is why we do baby dedications in the Church rather than baptisms that the child does not understand. The presentation is so that the Lord will recognize the young soul as his and cast his hedge of protection round the child until they are of age to understand Christ's salvation. What really stands out though in the prophecy from Exodus is that God tells us, "whether man or beast; it is mine". We are his from our conception as it is him that has given us the breath of life. We do not come from the womb into a holy world, but we are born into a sinful world. There must be some type of dedication or "turning over" of our children so that the protection of God can be with them even when we are not. So, this is why it is Biblically sound to dedicate the baby, teach and preach the salvation of Jesus Christ to the young, see them repent and be saved, and eventually baptize and watch them sanctify their lives, someday receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Hopefully they will be equipped to help us as well some day!! They are the future because God made them to be the future, let's give them back to him!! Even though we think they are ours........they are his. Have a great day!!!