Love Changes Everything
Having a baby changes everything.
Does anyone else remember those Johnson and Johnson ads? Black and white, hit you in the feels in thirty seconds, and memorable because it’s true. They were a simple declaration of what every [good] parent has discovered: “Having a baby changes everything.” It changes your priorities, desires, finances, and perspective— everything is now viewed through the lens of that relationship. Baby doesn’t come in and tell you that you must switch laundry detergent or stop staying out late five nights a week. Baby doesn’t demand you spend money on nursery decor or cute outfits. Baby won’t tell you to stop cursing when you stub your toe. Baby doesn’t tell you to put diapers and wipes in your budget. You do it out of love. You let baby change everything because of a deep, abiding, life-changing, all-consuming love for your child.
And that’s just the cute and cuddly phase. As they grow, you grow. There’s toddler-proofing your house, sitting in the cold to watch a soccer game, and cringing through a beginning band performance. Sometimes what you do for your kids is easy; sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes, you fight against your very nature to love them well because, big shock, not every parent enjoys sitting down to play with Play-Doh, cook dinner, make a science project, or drive to a million football practices. You do what is needed and required not out of a sense of obligation but out of love.
It’s a simple concept. I’m describing something parents of every generation have known in their very souls. Having a baby changes everything because you love them more than you could ever have imagined possible.
And this kind of love? This is the kind of love that is found in relationship with Jesus. The kind of love that changes your perspective. When you really know Jesus— not just know about Jesus as a character in the Bible, a religion that your parents follow, or a historical figure with great morals— but know Him truly as your savior and shepherd, it changes everything. It changes your priorities, desires, finances, and perspective— everything is viewed through the lens of that relationship. Jesus doesn’t come into your life with a list of rules and demand that you change everything. He comes in with mercy and grace, abounding in lovingkindness for you, and as you receive that unearned gift, the changes come naturally. Yes, sometimes they’re hard. Sometimes, you have to fight against your nature. You’re not doing it out of obligation but out of love for the one who loved us first.
Over time, you find that knowing Jesus changes how you speak, spend your money, and, dare I say, how you drive your car. It changes how you treat your children, your spouse, the other parents in the pick-up line, the painfully slow grocery store clerk, the self-serving boss, or the person who always disagrees with you. These changes don’t happen overnight; they take work and time. Just like it does with the baby who changed everything. The parent holding the sweet-smelling newborn in their arms is far different from the high school parent watching that baby from the sideline of a football game; there’s a lot to learn as you grow.
So we start simply with the love of a savior and let him change everything because of his deep, abiding, life-changing, love for us.
“God showed us how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love— not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 NLT
“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15 ESV
