Look What My Baby Has Done to Me

The following blog entry was offered as a children's message on World Communion Sunday, 10/5/08 to the kids of 1st Presbyterian Church of Harbor Springs, Michigan

I want to introduce you to my 8-month- old daughter, Eloise. Isn't she adorable? She's the first child I've ever had, and it's been amazing to go through these 8 months with her. You know, there were certain things I expected to happen once Eloise came into the world. I expected to love her more than words could say. I expected to spend hours just watching her sleep and grow and play. I expected to change her dirty diapers and hold her when she cried. I expected to give her baths and feed her and watch her make huge messes. 

But what I didn't expect was that Eloise would make me think about ALL the little children all around the world - all their moms and dads. I didn't expect that every time I looked at my baby, I'd realize more and more that every other dad in the whole world loves his baby girl or boy just as much as I love Eloise. I didn't expect that through Eloise I'd come to understand that every other dad in the whole world wants the same things for his baby as I want for mine - things like health, enough food, safety, no war or fear. Eloise has made me think about and feel closer to dads everywhere, even in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Nairobi.

At our house, Eloise's crib is right next to my bed. Since my wife Molly and her kids - Miles and Liza - have already left for school by the time I wake up, the first thing I see every morning is Eloise sleeping. Every morning I look at her as she sleeps and I start to pray. First, I pray for her, for her health, her safety, her family. But the more I look at her, the more I start praying for other children too. I pray for children in places like Darfur - where there's not enough food and far too much violence. I pray for children in Iraq - where armies clash every day and bombs explode, even in schools. I start to see in Eloise's lovely, innocent, helpless face the faces of kids I don't even know. I look in the mirror and as I see my worried, fatherly face, I see the faces of dads everywhere who just want their kids to be ok - safe, warm, well-fed, and out of harm's way.

Today is a special day in the church because it's World Communion Sunday. When we partake of the bread and juice on that table, we're supposed to think of people everywhere in the world who are doing the same thing. It's so easy just to think about ourselves, our families, our houses, our church, or our country. But God made the whole world and God loves the whole world. He doesn't love us more than other people. God doesn't care more for Presbyterians than for Catholics or even Buddhists. And God definitely doesn't care more for Americans than he does for the Japanese or Norwegians or Palestinian Arabs. So we've got to remember to pray for and care for ALL people all across the world. We've got to learn to see the face of Christ in other people - ALL other people. That's what World Communion Sunday is all about, and that's what having a baby is all about too.

I believe that God gives people like me babies so that our hearts will grow, so that we'll feel more of the world's joy and pain, just like God does.

Let's pray...Dear God, thank you for making the whole world. Thank you for making people all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Thank you for loving all people the same. Help us to love all people the same too, and not give special treatment to the ones who think, act, or look like us. Amen.

**I believe that if there is a Church in the future, it will be known for having a HUGE, inclusive heart. If there is a Church in the future, it will be filled with people who have learned to see in their own children's faces the faces of children everywhere, and to see in those faces the very face of God.