Last week we had the privilege of dedicating Ben at church. We stood up in front of the church with Ben and my parents and committed ourselves to faithfully raising Ben in a way that would point him towards Christ. The congregation joined in the commitment to pray for us and share the charge of impacting his life, in whatever way the church body touches his life, with the example of Christ and His love. We also prayed over Ben, with our earnest desire that he would choose to trust in Christ as his Savior at an early age and seek to live for Him.
Standing there, holding this precious boy whom we have prayed for, for so long, my heart just swelled at both the weight and joy of the moment. I felt like Hannah, coming back to the temple to commit her Samuel back to the service of the Lord in thankfulness for His incredible gift. I don't know what God has planned for Ben, but I can count on the fact that it is wonderful and includes a hope and a future as He has promised. What an incredible honor to be included in that plan. May God grant us the energy, wisdom and strength to faithfully live out such a calling.
Here is the video of the dedication:
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Oh Sarah - this made me smile. We got to dedicate Tommy on Mother's Day last year when he was 9 months old. It was a special time for us too. (o:
ReplyDeleteI've been reading this book called Crazy Love (at this point, not sure how I feel about it really) BUT one of the things I read was when he was holding his son, he realized that as a dad, he cannot control whether or not his son will ever love the Lord. That hit me so hard. I desire to see my son grow up to know Jesus too. And I was really convicted there. The only way Tommy will ever come to know Jesus and love Him is by him observing what Todd and I have with Christ and setting an example and sharing about our walks with God often. It felt scary to remember that he has a choice and it also felt comforting that as his parents we can show him what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. I feel the weight of what I carry there as his mother and how his observations and things learned from me will have an impact on his spiritual life too.
It is my greatest prayer EVER to have my son know Jesus. I think I whisper that prayer every day up to God. And I know you share that same prayer. I'm excited about both of our boys growing up to know Jesus in a real and intimate way!