Devotion for Monday, June 27 (Affirmation of Baptism Week)

Last week, I was at Confirmation camp.  The program that we use is based around the vows that each student will make at their confirmation.  These vows are the Affirmation of Baptism vows.  They are not simply for confirmation students, but all the baptized.  This week, I will share these vows and discuss them as our daily devotion.

Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism:

 

To live among God's faithful people

The first vow is to be part of the Christian community in an intentional way.  The early Christians were absolutely committed to being a part of each other's lives and it what literally and figuratively saved their lives.  That can be true for us as well.   

I believe that when Jesus says "Where two or more gathered in my name, I am there among them," (Matthew 18:20), that He is being serious.  As the followers of Jesus, community with other followers is necessary and vital to our growth in faith.  We cannot do it alone.    

I am convinced that Christian community is as necessary now, in our fractured and divisive world, as ever.  In our current culture, it is much easier for people to keep to themselves. Neighbors don't always know their neighbors.  And many will retreat into movies and series on big screen televisions, internet gaming, or even a Kindle as a replacement for true community.  

What we can offer, however, as the Christian community is a place where you are welcomed, loved, forgiven, and called to grow into the disciple God created you to be.  We do this through fellowship, sharing, learning, trusting, challenging, and comforting each other.  We do this in worship together, through serving together, and through studying together.  We do this through getting to know those outside our immediate sphere of relationship.  And this happens as we commit living among God's faithful people -- who will retell the stories and promises of God to us and for us, who will love us in an example of Jesus' love, and who will never tire of welcoming us and calling us friends!

Loving Jesus, help us to find ways to engage your people around us. Amen.