Our son just met his godparents for the first time yesterday. Is it significant? Probably not. He is 9 months old and will not remember this day. However, that does not diminishes the role of godparents.
Growing up I was asked my parents, "What is a godparent?" They replied almost bewildered, "If something happened to us, you would live with them." Hence the beginning of confusion. I had three godparents that consisted of three families. Who would I live with? I didn't want to live on my uncle's farm, nor move to the Twin Cities, or live in Arkansas. Man the problems.
This is the same problem most families have concerning choosing godparents. They think in terms of who will raise the kids (that is what a will is for) as opposed who will support and nurture the faith given in Holy Baptism. When choosing godparents, the qualifications are easy (but we tend to make them hard): 1) Believer in the crucified Christ for our sins (along with the Trinity), 2) Active in their faith (e.g. receive the gifts of God in worship), and 3) promise to pray and uplift your child in your faith. It truly is simple.
What a gift we have in our godparents Some are family, some are not, but the main focus is on faith in the living Christ who has won our salvation.
p.s. Our godparents bought our son Luther's Works on Galatians. Beat that!
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