Some twenty years ago a bishop called John Finney set out to discover how people become active Christians and participants in their local church. So instead of writing another weighty tome or putting forward an interesting theory, he went out with a team to interview a whole range of churchgoers of different ages and different backgrounds, and ask them some very simple questions about their faith. The published research: Finding Faith Today was a ground-breaking book and it's one that's still worth reading today.
And as you might expect one question he asked was: which factor led you to become a committed Christian? There were a whole variety of responses. Some of them talked about a particular event or reading the Bible. Rather more talked about the support of a friend or a minister. But what surprised the researchers was how many people talked about the birth of a child being an important event that led them to ask questions about what they really believed.
That's something that has been borne out in my own experience. There is something about having a baby that changes the way you view the world. No matter how much you prepare for the big event, or how much you think you are ready, suddenly finding yourself in charge of a living, breathing creature 24-7 acts as a real shock to the system. I think one of the more honest cards we had when our first daughter was born read: This child will bring more joy into your life than you can possibly imagine and more stuff into your car. Having a child really does turn your whole life upside down.
And as parents learn to cope with the upheaval, it's not uncommon for them to start thinking, however vaguely. about God.
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