Today, about 8:15 a.m. (give or take), I will give birth to our fifth child, a son. How can I pinpoint the time so accurately? I’m having a planned C-section. So unless Baby Timothy decides to make an appearance early (which I wouldn’t mind at all), I know the date and time when he will be born.
At the appointed hour, he will be lifted from my womb into the world, and I will get to meet him and rejoice in his presence. Over the last several months, my anticipation has built until now, I can hardly wait.
As I thought recently about how much I look forward to his arrival, I realized that God knows how I feel. Not just because He knows me intimately and can see everything about my emotions, but because He has given birth too—millions of times.
Obviously God does not have a female, physical body as I do. But He has indeed given life to a vast number of children, bringing them into the world at the appointed day and time. Just as He has determined when my son will be born, He also determined when all of His sons and daughters would be born.
I’m speaking, of course, about all those whom He has made His children through their faith in His Son. Each of us Christians was “born” at just the right time, which God had planned beforehand. But there is an important difference between my son’s birth and the birth of God’s children. My son is currently alive. When he is born, he will still be alive, but now outside my body. The difference is that before we were born into God’s spiritual family, we were dead. Not just alive somewhere else, but dead. Yet God, in His grace and mercy, brought us to life and transferred us from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of His Son, making us His children.
Unlike me, God has the power to transfer someone not only from inside a body to outside, but from death to life. So as excited as I am about my son’s birth, how much more thrilled must God be about His children’s births? All the time I have spent preparing for and anticipating my son’s arrival is nothing compared to what God did in preparation for my arrival, or yours. I’ve set up a nursery for my son; God is even now preparing an eternal home in heaven for His children. I bought some clothes made mostly out of cotton; God readied clothing of righteousness. I bought a small bathtub; God provided His Word and the blood of Jesus for cleansing His children. And although people usually don’t have baby showers for fifth babies (though I am being blessed with one this time), God always celebrates the arrival of His children.
The Bible tells us that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. “Joy” doesn’t mean just a little bit of happiness, as if God were saying, “That’s nice.” Joy means a huge, heavenly celebration over what God has done and over a new child born into God’s family—a celebration that’s far beyond even the most elaborate earthly baby shower.
So as I make final preparations for Timmy’s arrival; as I arrive at the hospital and give birth; and as I receive congratulations from family and friends for my beautiful son, I will remember.
I’ll remember God’s marvelous work at granting life to so many children, and I’ll praise Him.
I’ll meditate on how, though I love my son with all my heart, God loves His children even more, and I’ll thank Him.
I’ll experience joy over my son’s birth and remember that there was a heavenly party at my spiritual birth, and I’ll worship.
Will you think about these things too, in relation to you and your children? Will you spend time contemplating God’s majesty and goodness and let those qualities move you to adoring Him?
You see, as much as I love my children and you love yours, God loves us even more. Perhaps that is most incredible of all—that He loves us. Think about His love. Ask Him to help you grasp even the tiniest corner of it, and let it move you to profound gratitude and love for Him in return.
Ephesians 2:1, 4-6—And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked….But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Luke 15:7—Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
1 John 3:1—See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.