February 24, 2013, 10:00 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, Chris, Leslie and Naomi Chin along with grandparents, godparents and family members present Zoe Isabel Chin born on October 5, 2012 to be dedicated to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keeping promises is always challenging. We learn about how important keeping a secret promise is, is when we inadvertently reveal the secret. At the altar in front of many family and friends, we make marriage vows so that everyone present would hold us to the promises we made. It\u2019s just like putting it on Facebook\u2014everyone knows! When two people love each other so much that they promise to each other that they will bring a baby into the world, it\u2019s a huge promise, and I\u2019m afraid to say to you that this promise is one that will last you a lifetime! It\u2019s a lot more than a little pinky promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Greek, \u201cZoe\u201d means \u201clife\u201d and in the Hebrew, \u201cIsabel\u201d means \u201cGod\u2019s promises.\u201d Combining \u201cZoe Isabel\u201d together, it means \u201cGod\u2019s promises of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We read in the Old Testament that God promised Abraham and Sarah when they were already old that they would have many descendants and God\u2019s people will come from them. Because of their faithfulness, God promised Abraham that his descendants would be \u201cas many as the stars of heaven and as innumerable grains of sand by the seashore\u201d (Heb. 11:12<\/a>). While we as human beings may disappoint God and one another by breaking our promises when lying, in 1 Titus 1:2<\/a>, the Apostle Paul writes, \u201cin the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began\u201d in due time revealed Jesus Christ our Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A baby dedication in the life of a church is a significant event. Not only does the parents, grandparents, and relatives all promise to raise this child to be a follower of Jesus, we make our promises that we would help make this happen too. But the significance is even greater than this. Every time we see Zoe Isabel, we will see \u201cGod\u2019s promises of life.\u201d As Zoe grows older and bigger every day, she shows God\u2019s promises of the miracle of the human body. When she gets entangle with her older sister Naomi, she is becoming of age that God planned for her. When Zoe surprises you with new words or thoughts or actions, you will begin to see the \u201cpromises of life\u201d that God has given to her before the ages began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that Zoe\u2019s father is such a Giants fanatic that he saw a playoff game on the day that Zoe was born! While technically, the Giants have at least won one World Series title during their children\u2019s lifetime already, they won\u2019t remember this. You as parents will need to remind them by showing them newspapers clippings and all of the Giants gear that you have and teach them to believe in the promise that the Giants can win again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n