Today your birth is less than two months away. With each passing day, I think of you more often and in greater detail. In my mind’s eye, I try to see you in different stages of your life, wondering what you will be like as a little baby, as a young child, and as a young adult. I imagine what it will be like to hear you say to me that you want to be baptized. I contemplate the day you get married. I wonder what it will be like to experience the birth of your first child.
I hope to witness many of these things through immortal eyes. It is my prayer that you are blessed to grow up with the Lord Jesus Christ in God’s Kingdom on this earth. I hope you get to learn the story of David and Goliath from David himself (and to see him demonstrate his old skill with the sling and stone!). Perhaps Jonah will tell you how it was to be in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, and then will explain what his experience represented. I hope your great-grandfather reads to you. I pray you can reach out and be touched by the Lord Jesus.
I look forward to you turning me into a father, and making Julia into a mother. It will be such a delight to see her eyes filled with love for you, and to see her wisdom and kindness find new expression in caring for you. I look forward to you learning the meaning of self-sacrifice by watching her, and showing your appreciation by emulating her example. I want to see your mother in you.
I want to see your Heavenly Father in you as well. God has said that He formed the earth to be inhabited: “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isa. 45:18).
You will soon be part of that plan. God has said that He will fill the earth with His glory. And He has explained that His glory is shown forth in His Name and in the goodness of His character: “And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (Exod. 33:17-19). It will be your duty to bear that Name and to manifest that character.
Having you in our lives will help me better understand our Heavenly Father. By being your father, I hope to experience a measure of what God feels for us, His children: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him” (Psa. 103:13). In loving you, I hope to know better how much God loves us, how pleased He is with our obedience, how disappointed He is when we do wrong, and how ready He is to forgive us and to overlook our past mistakes.
I pray that loving you will help me to appreciate the love that God showed to us in giving us His Son.
I hope you make me a better person. Jesus said that parents and other adults can learn from the example of a child: “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matt. 18:1-5).
It is because young people are such a blessing that Zechariah encouraged the followers of God in his day with a vision of children playing in the streets of Jerusalem: “The city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof” (Zech. 8:5).
The Christadelphian community of believers (of which you will be a part) is in great need of young people who will love God and serve Him in spirit and in truth. You will not fully understand until you are older just how valuable young people are to the body of believers. If you are filled with excitement and enthusiasm for the things of God, you will be a great encouragement to people. Timothy, a faithful young person, was such an encouragement to Paul that the Apostle’s last recorded words were written to him: “Do thy diligence to come before winter… The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen” (2 Tim. 4:21,22).
Your life will be full of joy and meaning if you dedicate it to God. But to dedicate your life to Him, you must first know what His will is. You can learn that by reading God’s Word. Your mother and I will try to give you a home where the Bible is read and talked about on a daily basis. You will also be taught by your grandparents, who have already bought books about the Bible that they want to read to you. What’s more, there are many aunts and uncles in the Christadelphian community who will spend countless hours of their time preparing lessons for you and instructing you.
You will have many opportunities to hear the Word. But you must do more than just hear the Word; you must live it as well. Your mother and I will try to set a good example for you. We will prayerfully strive to show you the Word of God in the way that we conduct our lives. There will also be many good role models for you in the ecclesia. Notice them, and follow their example: “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” (Phil. 3:17).
Of course, the people around you, even those who are Christadelphians, are not going to be perfect. Your mother and I will not be perfect either. (There will come a time when you will enjoy reminding us of this fact.) One of the things you will learn by being our child is the need to forgive. You are going to need to forgive your mother and me at times because we will make mistakes.
You will make mistakes too. Pray about it. But do not worry or become discouraged. God has provided His Son to give you the hope of salvation.
God has written what a blessing it is for me and your mother to have you: “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” (Psa. 127:3-5).
You are part of the heritage of the LORD. I cannot wait to meet you.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One