Good morning…
The faith of our children takes form in many shapes and sizes, with varying shades and angles. I was reminded of this truth during yesterday’s 11:15 am worship service at Northside Church.
There was the Children’s Handbell Choir, the young Cherub Choir, and the older Chancel Choir with each unique youngster making a joyful noise to the Lord. There was the Children’s Moment when all the kids came up front of the sanctuary to hear a message about generosity. There was the touching baptism of our friends’ grandson, the second son of a young woman who went to school with our four kids. Then there was the Ministry Moment when my dear friend and her awesome husband spoke from the pulpit with their two boys, a freshman and a junior in high school, about how God is shaping an active, hands-on faith at the heart of their family.
During the baptism, we recited these words in unison as a church family: “With God’s help we will so order our lives after the example of Christ, that this child, surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal.”
What a special promise, to help to grow faith in the life of a newborn child.
My husband Steve and I also baptized our own children as infants, and we committed as parents to raise them in the faith. We attended weekly worship. The kids sang in the choirs. They went up front for the children’s messages. They were actively involved at Northside Church through their preschool, lower, middle, and upper school years. Then they each went away to college.
God stepped into our kids’ lives in brand new ways. Friends and mentors shaped fresh faith perspectives, nurturing for them a personal relationship with Jesus, deepening and expanding their own journey of faith. Year after year, God continued to order their unique lives after the example of Christ, who lived his daily life in continual conversation with our Father, in oneness with the Creator of all.
Our kids are now 31, 29, 27, and 25 years old, and faith looks different in each of their lives.
Last Sunday, as a family we gathered at Cleveland Road Baptist Church in Athens, Georgia to witness our oldest daughter be baptized as an adult, professing for herself a deep faith in Christ. As the Women’s Director for Campus Outreach, a college ministry at the University of Georgia, one of the young women she mentors also was baptized. Our oldest son, who is the Campus Director of Campus Outreach at UGA, did the same thing last fall, choosing to be baptized again as an adult in the same Baptist church.
Our first grandson, Charlie, is just about the same age as the six month old who was baptized at Northside Church yesterday. With the Holy Spirit of God forming their own personal beliefs, our son and daughter-in-law have chosen not to baptize Charlie as an infant. Even so, with God’s help they will order their lives after the example of Christ, so that Charlie, surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal.
Someday, I hope to be present as an adoring grandmother as Charlie is baptized as a professing adult.
The faith of our children takes form in many shapes and sizes, with varying shades and angles. Thanks be to Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
I grew up actively involved at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Berea, Ohio, and Steve is a third generation Presbyterian minister, whose faith was nurtured by church families in Ohio and Michigan. As we all stay grounded in the enduring promises of our Eternal God, we will each grow as the Lord sees fit… Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection] (Hebrews 12:2a, AMPC).
May our living Lord receive great glory, generation after generation.
…Sue…
