Then at the age of 28, Brantly and I became the proud parents of a baby boy we named Caden. One night I went in to check on him before I went to bed. There he was asleep, just breathing. His chest would rise and fall with each new breath. In that moment I discovered the love of the Father. This child of mine was doing nothing and yet I was so overwhelmed with love for him.

As Caden got older I wanted him to know I would love Him regardless. I wanted him to know my love would not eb and flow with his performance and behavior. What could I do to drive this point home? I taught him this little Q&A. I would ask him, “Caden, why do I love you?” I then taught him to respond, “Because I’m your son!”

I always asked Him this after he did something good. Why good? I wanted him to know I was proud of him but that wasn’t why I loved him. I hoped if he saw that my love in the good days was grounded in sonship, that he would remember his sonship in the bad days.

Today Caden is 17 and he’s sitting on the couch beside me right now. “Hey son, why do I love you?”

“Because I’m your son!”