Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Ephesians 5:1-2

Our son Augustine was born on June 26, 2011. Of course, life has been utterly transformed, as we had been told countless times it would, and as we suspected it most definitely would. One of my friends, Bobby, who, with his wife Emily, have two great kids, told me before Auggie was born, that he suspected the birth of our child would (among many things) have a profound impact on my preaching. He expounded that it would expand and deepen my conception of how God cares interacts and cares for people as his children. As I have not preached yet, I don't know the effect Auggie will have, but his birth has given me some insights about life, God, and how we treat one another.

People are so generous with a newly formed family. People just can't wait to share stuff with you once you have a child. We have received so many baby clothes, diapers, toys, and various paraphernalia, that we have hardly had to buy anything to prepare for his arrival. The warm wishes and love that accompanied each gift (and many times stood alone on their own accord) have radiated through our house, beginning months before the birth. We are also thankful for the meals that were prepared for us. Mira's mom stayed with us for three and a half weeks, which was wonderful as she did so much to ease our transition and keep us comfortable, and sprinkled love all over our new family's home. And after she left, several friends from our small group and others from the area chipped in and brought over meals that satiated us and provided loving company that made us smile. Mira's best friend from high school and her mother visited for about four days, and lo! and behold! during their visit, a "grocery fairy" and a "laundry fairy" also visited. I am grateful for those loving fairies, whoever they were. Mira's brother-in-law and his fiance came, as well, bringing gifts, a willingness to help, and lots of love for Auggie, Mira, and I. My folks visited us, and they and my brother and sister in law, provided gifts, love, and provided all sorts of hospitality when we made the long trek up to the Spokane region for some rest and relaxation. A friend of mine from college even made a detour visit from a family wedding he was attending in Seattle, and surprised us with a flat of berries. Numerous showers dotted throughout provided by friends, neighbors, and church family gave us a rain storm of gifts and, of course, love. Love Love Love.

People just can't seem to resist smiling when they see a new baby. And people just want to do something for that baby's family. It really does make sense that this is how God views us all the time. There is no history between us because God consistently and persistently wipes the slate clean: God is overjoyed when we laugh and smile, and his heart breaks in our sorrow, the same way mine does when I see Auggie's tiny face cringe in fright or pain. Of course that is not always the purest way I react to Auggie's cries (which says a lot about my own impatience because when I get frustrated, its because Auggie has "selfishly" interrupted me with his needs), but I sense that is always the way God reacts to ours.

And then something will inevitably happen. People will stop smiling at us when the three of us walk down the street, no longer enamored with a newborn baby in their midst. While some people will always love kids and people, there will be many who will snap at us to keep our kid quiet; who will wonder why he is so messy and disrespectful. And eventually, when Auggie is able to make his own choices, there will be some who disagree with his choices, opinions, and lifestyle decisions, labeling him as doomed or problematic or a trouble-maker before he even has a chance to get to know them. It is hard to imagine with this two month-old baby in our midst, but it is true. And it is a truth that brings out many emotions in me.

My hope is that it doesn't happen in the church, with Auggie or with any other child of God. Having a newborn in our midst, it is easier to do this, but I am trying to see the world, not through the eyes of a newborn (which must be a wild experience!), but through the eyes of God - where I acknowledge that each person I see has at one point has been cared for as a baby. "That person is God's newborn baby." It is not always easy to do this. While visiting some friends the other day, we saw a man walking down the street with his son. I don't what had happened to instigate this, but over and over again the man kept asking the son, "Who's the liar? Who's the liar" When the son tried to say something, the man just kept repeating with more force, "Who's the liar? Who's a ****ing liar? ****ing liar! ****ing liar!" The son was in the fifth grade and our friend had had him in her second grade class. While it was easy to feel for the son, it was not easy to see this man as a newborn infant, treating his son with such disdain. But I believe God's heart broke and wept for both of them on that day: For the son who experienced such pain at the thundering and pounding voice of his dad, and for the father who himself must have been treated in a similar manner as a child. I pray the cycle ends at the son's generation. Sadly, the Christians too often play the role of the dad in this story, but that is because we (sometimes for entire lifetimes) stopped seeing the world the way God has taught us too: through God's eyes. Our houses get robbed, our child grows up, we get cut off in traffic. Stuff happens and we forget.

If Augustine makes a bad decision with drugs or alcohol, what labels will be permanently affixed to him? If Augustine decides that he is a fiscal conservative, will he be told to quit being a stodgy stick in the mud? If he decides that he's a liberal, will he be told to quit being such a bleeding-heart and get realistic about the world? If Augustine comes out as a sexual minority, what epithets will be thrown his way? It's hard to imagine Auggie in those situations, but consider this: the last person I thought ill of was a baby at some point in their lives. Do you think it was easy for their parents to consider that at some point I would be wishing evil upon their baby?

My prayer is that the lesson I have learned with Augustine: the appreciation of others for all the flavor they bring to life, having a God's eye view of the world, and the importance of expressed love in our relationships, sticks with me throughout all of his, my, and Mira's life together.

God's peace,

Eric