What To Do with an Empty Quiver

by Sheri Schofield

Our church is holding its annual garage sale later this month to raise scholarship funds for our children to participate in camp and mission trips. I figure it is a good time to give away some of the cute dishes I’d stored for when I had grandchildren. I do have grandchildren now, but they live far away and I only see them once or twice a year. They have long outgrown these dishes—serving bowls with duck feet, a painted bumble bee bowl on a spring that makes it bounce, salt and pepper shakers that look like chicks, etcetera. I sigh as I put these in the garage sale, but there is no point in keeping them now.

The Bible tells us that our children are like arrows that fill our quivers. The thing about arrows is that they are not meant to stay in the quiver. They are designed for flight toward a distant target. We never know where the Lord will send our children once we release them.

But what about our now-empty quiver? God never intended us to live with empty quivers! He wants us to continue reproducing our faith in the lives of others.

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you…You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 1:5, & 2:1,2, NIV).

Timothy was not Paul’s physical son. He learned of Jesus through his mother and grandmother. He became a spiritual son to Paul (“my true son in the faith” 1 Timothy 1:2) while serving God under Paul’s leadership. Paul instructs Timothy to share with others the things he learned from him, in order to reproduce Christian leaders.

One does not have to be a strong, bold leader to reproduce godly character. The most influential person in my life was an eighty-two-year-old widow who took me into her home after high school every day while I waited for a ride home. She always had a snack for me. Together, we would sit at her table, and she would thank God for His provision before we ate. I used to glance up at her as she prayed, for her face glowed as she spoke with God! I wanted to be like her someday.

I became an arrow in her quiver.

Paul also wrote—”As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good” (Titus 2:1-3 NLT).

While our words can be powerful and guide those under our influence, a living example gives feet to what we teach. They see God through our humility, selfless acts, and loving with no expectation of something in return. By living this way, we inspire others to follow in our steps as we follow Jesus.

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. Titus 2:12, 13 NLT

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Award-winning author, illustrator, and Bible teacher Sheri Schofield ministers to children and their families through her ministry, Faithwind 4 Kids. After serving Jesus through children’s ministries and personal evangelism for many years, she understands how to communicate God’s plan of salvation clearly to those who are seeking God.

Her first book on salvation, The Prince and the Plan, was designed specifically for children. But during COVID, Sheri sensed the need to also provide help for adults. Her new book for adults, God? Where Are You?, tells tells who God is, how we became separated from him, and what he is doing to bring us back to himself through Jesus. At the end of each chapter is a section called “Food For Thought”, which answers questions many unbelievers have, such as—If God is good, why do terrible things happen?—Is anyone too “bad” for God to want to rescue them from sin? This biblically based book is short and easy to read. 

Join the conversation: Whose spiritual quiver are you in? Are there “spiritual sons and daughters” in yours?