On Sunday we dedicated you to the Lord before our blood family and our church family. We did it because we wanted to make a public statement that the Lord is your true Father, and has entrusted you to us to shape and mold in His likeness. We wanted to make it clear we know to Whom you belong, and we are committed to the hard work of loving you into His kingdom.

At the end of the dedication, your grandpa said that each of his children is a better person than he is. I hope he’s right. Your grandfather is a wonderful man. Your dad and I are blessed to have been raised in wonderful families. But I still hope he’s right, because that’s how it should be. Because he and your grandmother were faithful, the Lord has honored their faithfulness by growing their children just a little bit past their scope. And that’s my prayer for you, too. I pray that you will grow to be better people than your dad and I.

Sometimes I get nervous because I can see the ways in which life could be very difficult for you if you choose to follow Jesus with the abandon I hope you will. And that’s exactly why I want you to be a better person than I am. Because the more you are abandoned to Him, the more He can ask of you. I read recently that we give with abandon to our children because the more we give the more we can require. So as you grow we are going to do our best to pour into you with love and patience and grace, to show you Jesus through our lives, with the prayer that the Lord would turn you into people who are so filled up with His love that He can require far more from you than He could have from your grandparents or your parents.

I pray you are joyful about following the Lord wherever He leads you. I have so many hopes and dreams for you, and I’m sure those will grow along with you over time. Ultimately, though, the only thing that matters is that you love the Lord with your everything.

We sing this song with our church family, and whenever we do I pray that these are sentiments that will guide you passionately through life.

To know and follow hard after You
To grow as Your disciple in the truth
This world is empty pale and poor
Compared to knowing You, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after You

I love you the most there is.