Wayne always said the first two words, “I believe” – and then shut his mouth … Six months or so [later] … Wayne didn’t stop with “I believe” but continued: “…in God the Father Almighty …” I kept an eye on him … And then in a couple months, I observed the addition of “Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord …” About ten months into this I saw Wayne complete his confession with “I believe in the Holy Spirit ...”
Then a couple weeks after I had seen him complete his confession of faith, as he was leaving worship, he said, “Pastor, I want to be baptized. Can we talk about it?” We talked about it. He told me about his slow and cautious working his way into a believing life. I told him I had been watching it happen. He was surprised that I had noticed. He didn’t know he was being observed. The next week he was baptized, to the surprise of a number of those he had offended over the past year by his know-it-all atheism.
Was your journey to baptism quick or slow? Eager or reluctant? Did you always believe, or did you journey from unbelief? Pray for continuing growth in faith.
Reading from Eugene H. Peterson The Pastor: A Memoir (New York: HarperOne: 2011), 256-257.
No comments:
Post a Comment