In Baptist churches, we have a ceremony we call Baby Dedication.  When a child is still young, the parents and child stand before the church and promise to raise their children in a godly home.  The child receives a certificate and Bible and the parents have a tremendous photo op with family gathered around.

The Biblical precedent for this seems to come from the experience of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1.  She prayed earnestly for God to give her a son, and she promised if He did, she would give the child back to God.  God came through on His end, and Hannah faithfully kept her promise and gave her son Samuel over to the service of God’s leader, Eli.  Samuel grew up trusting God and became a faithful leader of God’s people as well.

I remember the day that Andrea and I dedicated Bekah to the Lord at Pointe South Community Church.  We recognized her as a gift to us from God – and we still do – and we promised God in front of witnesses that we would with His help raise her to trust God and follow His Son Jesus.  From time to time, when I worry about her and how ministry life affects her, God has to remind me that He has her and that she will be fine.

I am left to wonder, however, as I observe other believing families, what the meaning of their child’s baby dedication meant to them.  They stood before a church and committed their child and their role as parents to the Lord, but now they lead their children to pursue other interests at the expense of their relationship with the Lord.

They dedicated their child to the Lord as an infant, but now they take their child out of church to pursue athletics, school activities, family time at the lake or beach, and a myriad of other seemingly harmless pursuits.  Harmless, except for the fact that this practice demonstrates to the child that while God maybe of some importance, these other activities are more important than Him.

God did not challenge me to raise Bekah to be a scholar, star athlete, or even a skilled musician.  He did not charge me with the task of making sure she assimilates into culture, but rather the contrary (a blog for another day, I am sure).  He did charge me with the awesome responsibility to raise her in such a way that she becomes a fully engaged follower of Jesus, no matter the cost.

Parents, let’s be careful that the message of our mouths is reinforced by the message of our actions and priorities.  Let Baby Dedication be a daily recommitment.

 Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4