On the way home from school, my children and I were talking about the demographic crisis many countries face, and I was outlining potential reasons why the birth rate was so low in so many countries—from economic pressures to cultural pessimism to changing values and norms, particularly where religious practice is declining.

They started out wondering why someone would not want to have kids, but then began to wonder why our family has a different mentality. What is the affirmative case for having children?

It merits a good response. Raising children is not easy, particularly when both parents must work full time, inflation has made it hard for many to provide for their family’s basic needs, and a sense of precarity haunts middle class families. Of course, it is helpful to think about the billions of humans that have lived in worse economic conditions—many of whom happily raised families.

The basic reason is that as Christians, we are called to live lives of virtue. And for most devout Christians (though not all, of course), faith, hope, and love point toward marriage and children.

I try to live in hope. And that means not giving up on the world—even in a culture that is hostile to many of my deepest-held values and that seems increasingly determined to obliterate the common good.

The reality of climate change, a throwaway culture that kills the poor and vulnerable, rising inequality, faux meritocracy, hyperindividualism, democratic backsliding, and ugly identitarianism should not be ignored. But the response should not be nihilism and inaction, but hope that a brighter, more just future can be built.

I haven’t given up on the world because I believe that life has meaning. And that meaning is to live a life animated by love. That should drive our efforts to advance social justice, while also shaping how we live our day-to-day lives.

I have children because of this belief that the meaning of life is to live a life animated by love—for others, my wife, and this world. Life isn’t about maximizing pleasure or purchasing consumer goods, seeking high status or maximizing my autonomy. The premise of life is to transform the world through love.

Having children flows naturally from this desire to build a life of love. Parenthood offers an entirely unique way to love others. And like all forms of genuine love, it requires sacrifices. It can also bring immense joy and wholeness. But those are the products of virtue, not the goal.

The goal is faithfulness.

One reason why I am not particularly optimistic that young people will suddenly start having kids at higher rates, even with smart policy interventions, is because religious practice is not increasing dramatically and what I have said makes little to no sense for those who believe they live in a strictly material universe devoid of transcendent meaning.

I believe that our everyday choices and simple decisions have meaning because we can receive, experience, and share in God’s transcendent love. We can and should love because we are loved. We can and should have hope while living in this broken world because death and destruction will not have the final word.

And few things are a greater witness to hope and love—and ultimately to trust in God—than co-creating with God by bringing children into this world—and trying to fill their lives with love and joy, to give them the sense that they have infinite worth and value, to teach them they were made in and for love.

People live lives rich in faith, hope, and love without having children. But for most of us everyday Christians, there is no greater reflection of our belief in these things than our efforts to have and raise children whose very existence is a testament to the goodness and love of God.