Strong in the Faith

How did we get here?
How do we stay here?

Yesterday 4 of our young people took on the grace and responsibility of living as a person of faith.  They did not arrive at this destination on their own.  They were called by the Holy Spirit into baptism and nurtured by people of faith around them: parents, grandparents, sponsors, adult friends, members of the community at Luther Memorial and other influences we will probably never know about.  In fact, many of us are not completely sure how we ourselves have held onto our faith through the years.

How does faith come about?  How does it grow? Here are six tools.  These are the tools that parents use to help form their children's faith life;  they are the ones we all use to maintain a solid, healthy relationship with the God whom we believe has blessed us.

Worship.  Sunday mornings much of the time; occasionally Wednesdays; plus once a year we gather throughout Holy Week.  We worship.  We come to worship.  How is it a tool to our faith formation?

When you walk through the doors on Sunday morning for worship, you know you are entering a sanctuary - a holy place where your burdens can be laid down.  You know that this space has been set apart for connecting with the God whose love for you is neither blind nor naive.  Here you find the Divine Voice which tells you, "I know all about you.  Every nook and cranny.  Everything you want to remain hidden from sight forever.  I know you."

Once we have admitted the truth of all that is known, then we can breathe in the power of this God's second statement, "I love you.  The you who I know, I love. I created you, gave you breath and now I want you to experience life separate from the brokenness of this world."

Each person who walks through the door gives up a hour and a half of time to be with the Lord who knows and loves them, surrounded by others who are there for the very same reason.  We use ancient words, and occasionally ancient songs to repeat the good news of this delivering, loving God.  We share some bread and some wine and we are made whole by the outpouring of God's love for us.  A gift of life.  For each one of us, no matter what we dragged through the front door before we got started.

It is the source of all else that flows.  It is the lens through which we see the world.  It is our foundation and shows us the fullness of what can be.

We worship.  Tool one.