I’m doing some consulting to a medical practice and happened to be training the staff at a hospital the past several days. After the work of the day was complete, I was getting ready to leave and happened to run into a pediatrician who was on his way to the delivery room to attend to a new baby who was about to enter the world. The corridors were busy with people running back and forth, preparing the soon to be mother for the impending arrival of her son.
Although I was invited to attend the birth, I decided that it would be better to hang back and not intrude on all the activity unfolding in front of me. It was exciting to watch the choreography of the doctors and nurses as they worked together in what appeared to be perfect harmony to bring this new life into the world. And it didn’t take long before I could hear the cry of the new arrival – a healthy boy – crying at the top of his lungs.
Immediately, he was turned over to the pediatrician who performed his preliminary exam right in front of the window I was standing next to. I have to admit that my mind was taken back to when Kristin was born almost 42 years ago. I was there for her delivery and, by the way, for the births of Jill and Andrew as well when they entered the world.
Of course the excitement of this last birth wasn’t nearly the same as the emotions I felt when our own children were born. But it did give me a chance to go back and relive the last 40 years and how drastically our lives have changed since Kristin first entered the world. There have been successes and celebrations – and disappointments and health scares along the way. And the same is true for Jill and Andrew. Remarkably, all of our children were born in different hospitals and our kids are as different as the places they were born.
And as I stared at that tiny little baby, all I could think about was the blank slate of his life and how his mother and father would raise him. Would they lead him the Lord and expose him to a Christian upbringing? How would he grow and what would his life be like 20 or 40 or 60 years from now? I asked those same questions when I was there as each of our kids arrived but the big difference is that I have lived life with Janet and them; and now I know the kind of people that they have turned into. And I am very pleased with the way that all three of our children have grown and matured; and have embraced their faith along the way.
The verse for this evening is from the book of Matthew and records the words of Jesus as he tells us, in Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” My encouragement this evening is that Jesus loves all of us, but children are of particular interest to Him. My prayer is that children entering the world will be exposed to the love of the Father and His Son. After all, there is no greater love than the love of God for us and the greatest thing you can do for our newborns is to realize the importance of raising them to be all that God created them to be. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…