Pastor's Corner

As human beings, we tend to want to find meaning in just about everything. And no, I'm not just talking about the surface meaning - I mean the meaning behind the meaning. If your wife says to you, "Wow, those dishes are really piling up," you would do well to recognize the meaning behind the obvious fact that there are, in fact, dishes piling up. "It's probably time for you to wash the dishes, dear…" The words are meant to drive you to action.

You've probably said, or at least heard, the words, "I believe in God…" But, what does this really mean? In other words, what does this mean for your life? You believe in God - but what now? Is this fact simply an acknowledgement that God exists, a cognitive understanding that there is some greater Being out there? Or is it something more?

Just weeks after Jesus Christ was reported to have died and miraculously risen from the dead, many people were presented with the story of who God is and what he had done in and through Jesus of Nazareth. After hearing the message, they "believed" it. But there was more. They were "cut to the heart," and they found themselves asking, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). In other words, what does confessing this mean for our lives? The answer was literally life-changing. "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself" (Acts 2:38-39). Repent ("turn!") from how you've been living your life, and be baptized into Christ. In other words, the message completely changed their lives. Their belief - their confession - meant more than simply recognizing that there was a God.

When you confess the God of Christianity, it's more than just a mental recognition that he exists. Belief - "faith" - is the trust that who God is and what he has done in Christ is all for you. And this is life-changing. It means something for you. Your identity is now as one who is in Christ. You are forgiven, restored, and filled with the very breath of God. So what does confessing God look like in your life? If you want to know what it meant for the believers in the early church, read the rest of Acts 2. What it meant for them is the same for us. It means being a part of a community of believers - the body of Christ - who gather together. It means listening to his Word, being cut to the heart, and finding that your life will change, because your identity is in Christ through Baptism. It means praying. It means breaking bread in the Lord's Supper. It means living the new and sanctified lives given to us as Christians, lives of love and service. Through this "belief," you will find new meaning - a new life - because you are found in Christ.