“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,” (Colossians 2: 6-7)
I am fortunate that my life in the Christian faith has been rooted in a family that loves Jesus and taught me to do the same.
My grandparents were all faithful. I remember waking up at my grandparent’s home and seeing my grandmother and grandfather reading the scripture. I remember seeing my other grandmother reading her bible each day. I remember being an active participant in the church because my parents were faithful in exposing me to the beautiful promises of my baptism.
Church life has been the backbone of my life. I have grown up in the faith and continue my life being a professional clergyman. Heidi and I are working on teaching the faith to our children. And this is a great joy.
I often wonder how my life might be different if I had experienced something other than what I have. Would I still be a pastor? Would Jesus mean as much to me as he does? Would I be faithful?
I can’t answer that. I do know that when I meet those who have come to the faith without having the same kind of upbringing that I had, I am heartened and figure that their witness could be my own. I have come to believe that I probably would have ended up a pastor since I feel this is what God called me to be and, as I have told numerous potential pastors over the years, “If God wants you, God is going to get you!”
Still, as we sing in a favorite song, Come Now is The Time to Worship, “One day every tongue will confess you are God, one day every knee with bow. Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now.” I am thankful that I have been taught the blessing and grace of choosing this life with Jesus now. It is a treasure.
God of my life, thank you for giving me faithful loved ones to teach me about you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment