#ShareACoke #CelebrateLife

In the 1st chapter of the book of Jeremiah, we read about God's unique call upon the prophet, and the way that He had ordained this one man's life, a concept that can actually be applied to each of us, I think:
5"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."6Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."7But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

God creates and ordains each and every life.  Think about that - you were formed with a special purpose, even from the womb.  We can celebrate the hand of God with each announcement of pregnancy, we can possess a sense of expectation of what God will do in and through each life.  And, we can reflect on the potential for each person to develop a relationship with Almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ.   The expectation of life brings the expectation of His blessing, His giftedness, and the expression of His love.

We celebrate our Creator God, and, as believers in Him, we celebrate the lives that He has ordained.  In Psalm 139, we read about the hand of God in the formation of a new life:
13For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.14I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.15My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Maybe you've seen it; over 4 million people and counting have viewed what has been called, "the best baby announcement" ever, according to a piece written by Marie Osborne on Christianity Today's her.meneutics blog.   It's been featured across the web and on Good Morning America, E!, and more.

It features children's pastor Patrick McGillicuddy and his wife Whitney sitting at a table opening cans of Diet Coke, you know the new packaging that has people's names on them.   When each opens the can with the other's name on it, they begin to speak with each other's voice.  Then they begin to search within the cases for other names - of celebrities - and after they drink, they begin to speak lines from various celebrities.  Finally, they get back to normal, turn around their cans, and you see the words "Mom" and "Dad" written on them.

And, as Marie writes, "...pregnant couples all over began planning their own clever and adorable ways to outdo them."  She goes on to say:

After all, we live in an era of personal moments shared on social media, of milestones turned to grand gestures. From wedding aisle dances to surprise proposals, we’ve seen special moments between couples unexpectedly explode as viral videos. (Remember the flash mob style marriage proposal set to Bruno Mars’ “I Think I Wanna Marry You”? That precious little slice of that couple’s life has been viewed over 27 million times in the last 2 years.)

Understandably, we worry about this kind of Internet publicity overshadowing the moment itself. Our cultural love of grand gestures—even I can’t resist watching that flashmob proposal over and over—may build up expectations and lead us to believe that traditional, straightforward announcements are, as one writer worries, “less meaningful, less important, less loving, less special.”

Osborne set out to interview the McGillicuddys and discovered a couple who "are creative people who enjoy entertaining others and bringing them joy." She points out that the #ShareACoke video was never intended to put anyone else’s pregnancy announcement down, or challenge anyone to top them. Patrick just, “really enjoys that kind of creativity. I just love being able to give people joy from something creative.”  Pat, by the way, is part of the Internet video show called, "The Pat and Dre Show."

So, Osborne asks, what’s their takeaway from Internet stardom?  She says probably the same thing we should all say to ourselves when we start feeling pressure to top the social media success of others. Patrick said:

I have to ask myself, “Am I finding worth and value from a video or am I able to rest in being accepted by Christ?” Sure, there’s a certain amount of validity that comes from acclaim, but the beauty of the video was that we didn’t intend for this to happen. It was such a special thing that we did together. It was very affirming that people enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, I come home and my life is about 1) Whitney and 2) Jesus.

And, of course, as the write points out, "baby makes three."

It's certainly a refreshing take on our own identity in Christ.   Patrick and Whitney's creative expression is quite good, and while they did want to share the joy of having a child in an entertaining manner, at the end of the day, Patrick points out that the creative expression did not determine their value.  It's a great reminder that we are to do what we do out of who we are, and who we are is not determined by what we do.  Think about that - we'll talk later this week about how over half of workers surveyed gain identity from their jobs, and it's important to note that for the Christian, we are called to view ourselves in light of our position in Christ, not our position in life.

And let's be honest and Biblical, life is a precious gift.  The announcement of a new life is cause for celebration, and we should do it proudly, and with thankfulness to God for the gift of a child. What gladness that Beth and I had when we discovered that we were pregnant with our two children!  It's an incredible blessing that God has given to all of us to participate in His process of giving life to another person.  Life is precious, and as a society, it's important that we do celebrate the gift of life.

Now, on to another point that is so important in a culture that devalues life.  Unfortunately, without generalizing too much, the same cultural elites that believe that a woman has the right to terminate their pregnancy, you may find, will celebrate their own children.  A "baby bump" can be great for news coverage, but when it's someone else's child, there doesn't seem to be the same sense of celebration, and there's support for a woman choosing to abort her child.   It's a bit paradoxical.  I would hope that we as a culture would develop a greater sense of celebration of all life, no matter what the circumstances of the conception.   Consider our mighty, wonderful, Creator God, who ordains life, and calls us to cherish our lives and to value and respect the lives of others, including those yet to be born.