He has saved us and called us

with a holy calling,

not according to our works,

but according to His own purpose and grace,

which was given to us in Christ Jesus

before time began.

II Timothy 1:9

A tiny baby in his proud father's arms, a beaming mother and teary eyed friends.  A fledgeling family huddled before God to dedicate this new life to Him.  A promise, a prayer,  an awed plea for wisdom, a longing to see this child envelope the love that surrounds him. 

Noone asks what that child has done to deserve such an outpouring of love.  Noone demands that he prove himself worthy of the hopes and the plans of his parents.  He'll never remember this day.  He'll see only funny old fashioned pictures in the albums pressed on his giggling date.  He won't understand the pride and the terror of that day until he marches his own first born to front of the church.

We're called with a holy calling; we're consecrated, we're dedicated by God himself.  Unworthy, untested, before time even began, to rest in the arms of a love we can never truly comprehend.