The day my son was born is the day I was born again, too

In the Church of Christ, we teach that a person is “born again” (Gospel of John 3:3) when he comes up out of the waters of baptism.

If that is the case, I was “born again” on March 4, 1987.

But the day I was truly born again (or maybe we can say most born again) was September 24, 2012.

That was the day my son, Daniel, was born.

Before that day, I was just trying real hard to make believe God.

But when I heard my son’s first cry and they put him in my arms, I didn’t have to try to make believe anymore.

For the first time in my life, I knew God for real.

In that operating room where they took Daniel out of my wife’s womb, I found myself in a trinity of trinities.

The first is the trinity of our new family: Daddy, Mommy, and Daniel.

The second is Jesus, me, and Daniel. As I learn about manhood by following the life and teachings of Jesus, I pass on that manhood to Daniel by showing and telling him what I learn from Jesus.

The third trinity is The Trinity, the one Christians know: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But as I held my newborn son in the operating room, God gave me a mysterious and wonderful new experience of the Trinity.

For a few fleeting moments, I had an out-of-body experience as if I was in the Spirit. And in the Spirit, I felt every feeling and filled every space between God, the beaming, weeping Father, and Jesus, the adored and beloved newborn baby.

It was a gift. A mysterious and wonderful gift.

For a moment, I got to go inside the heart of God. I got to experience what it is like to be God the Father, overcome and undone by joy and love.

And that’s when I finally knew–knew–that God is love.

I didn’t have to make believe anymore.

I’ve slept like a baby ever since (except for the nights when I was up taking care of my baby boy).

My son was born on September 24, 2012.

At his birth, I was born again, too.

May he and I grow up together in the love of God.

And I pray that if you are still waiting to experience this love for yourself, that God will give you ears to hear and eyes to see that his love is around you, in you, with you all the time, every day, everywhere, even here and now.

Grace and peace.