First of all I appreciate a honest atheist to someone who 'goes through the motions' for social or other reasons...
Having said that -although I dont know Lutheran theology very well- Have you ever considered what Jesus meant when he said that the 'God makes the rains fall on good people and bad people alike'. In those day farming was a common occupation so it was very clear and funny to picture rain not falling on some peoples fields and not on on others. Anyway the point was that Jesus went against the mold of every religious belief including Jewish ones where the prevailing wisdom was that if something bad was happening to you it was because you sinned. Not true. In fact, Jesus said quite the opposite. His followers would be persecuted, they would be following the 'hard and narrow road'. That may not be exactly what is preached in some churches today. But that is what it is.
Again the above is not to somehow 'make' you believe in God but just to point out that the reason given had nothing to do with anything Jesus promised his followers. But we do have something in common

There is nothing like having a wife you love and kids. Enjoy the kids, they grew up toooo fast. And get all the pics you can. Teens are not going to much fun to take pics of...