I will never forget the day that Laura was born. Amanda (our oldest) was facing the challenge of being a single parent, but she was not going to face it alone. She had a support system around her and she asked Meredith, her two sisters and me to be in the delivery room with her. Amanda’s water broke at 7:30 in the morning on May 16, 2008. It was a very long and exhausting day and I wasn’t even the one in labor.

At 9:52 that night, through screams and tears, Laura made her appearance. They wrapped her in a blanket and handed her to Amanda. The rest of us pressed in to see our new family member. Much to my surprise, Amanda held her for only a few seconds and then handed her to me. I was going to be the man in Laura’s life and Amanda wanted me to spend some of those first few moments with Laura.

As I stared down at this incredible gift from God, I was overwhelmed. I felt an area of my heart, that I did not even know existed, jump to life. I felt it begin to fill with a love that I had never experienced before. It was nothing short of amazing. Is there anything more miraculous than the birth of a child?

This young life had been created in the image of God. I whispered a prayer in her ear. I prayed for her protection. I prayed for her future. I prayed she would grow into an incredible woman of God and live for Him.

I prayed for strength to be the man who would lead her. I prayed I would give her an example of how a Godly man treats a woman. I prayed I would know how to point her to Jesus. I committed to sacrifice my own desires, comfort and security so this young child would have every opportunity afforded to her. I promised to do everything within my power to help her become the women God had created her to be.

Today, as I look into the eyes of the men, women and children we serve, I wonder what their birth was like. Did someone hold them and appreciate the incredible miracle of that moment? Did someone find a new place in their heart they did not even know existed? Did that moment change someone else’s life forever as they prayed for that child?

Do we see  this kind of value in those we serve? Meredith and I have a long history of serving, but I have to admit I did not always see those we served as unique creations made in God’s image. I often missed their value. I thought I was there to fix them. I had a Savior Mentality riding in on my white horse to relieve the suffering of the poor.

You may think this attitude doesn’t apply to you and you may be right. It may not, but you know this attitude is alive and well in churches and service organizations. We serve out of pity, not because we see value. We want a quick solution so we can feel like we’ve done our part and go back to our lives. We want to be able to check the box.

We hear of a single mom who can’t make her light bill, so we write the check because, “That’s what love would do.” We find out there are a group of men living under the bridge and we give them blankets when it’s cold. “You know, Jesus said when you give to the least of these you’ve given to Me.” Blindly providing for the needs of others is not a display of Godly love. In fact, I don’t think it is a display of any form of love.

If serving others by addressing the symptom is a display of love, then I owe my children a huge apology, because I obviously hated them. You see, I taught them to work hard. I pushed them to be the best they could be, to display character, integrity, and to succeed by living a Godly life. That’s what parents are supposed to do. That’s what love does.

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