You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Dear Friends in Christ,
When I was a kid and my dad would take me to a baseball game, I found the experience full of majesty and mystery. The people and the stadium and the pro ball players brought a shared thrill for me with my family. In part, the mystery came from the, uh, ‘quality’ of Cleveland baseball in the 1970s… But most of the mystery was all about this strange game with its complex rules and traditions. Top of the inning, bottom of the inning, esoteric scoring sheets, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, and why is it a strike if he didn’t even swing? And who understands the umpire’s grunts? Then there was the Seventh Inning Stretch, which for me came out of nowhere and seemed mostly the occasion for Cracker-Jack popcorn. Strange, but glorious.
I remember my dad and uncle sharing stories about baseball greats and games that they remembered from the past, and what’s going on with teams today. I didn’t know what was going on at first, but I learned from them over time, sharing games with them, asking questions and eventually practicing for myself. I didn’t have to go to special classes or take special tests. I learned because it was part of our lives and I saw that modeled around me, and I was invited to participate. It meant something to my dad—to my family, and so it meant something to me.
Of course, some kids do go to little league, where for several hours each week, they learn to throw, catch and bat until it settles into muscle memory that lasts a lifetime. This is how we learned baseball, with all its complexities and with all its relational sharing and impact as well. From our families, and sometimes from the commitment to go deeper.
This is also how we learn and grow in relationship with church and relationship with God. Perhaps we have classes in which we can learn and grow, but so much of what it means to be a Christian is formed and shaped in our families and in the rhythms of life we adopt. When families worship God every Sunday, it is part of their lives and as normal as going to school on Monday. Kids learn the complexities of worship by participating in worship. They can follow along in a hymnal long before they have mastered reading or reading music. They can learn by coming forward for communion, by learning the Lord’s prayer, and by watching and listening to their parents as they pray in church and at home, as they talk about God, as they seek God’s guidance and trust in God’s provision.
And to grow deeper—to help us gain that spiritual ‘muscle-memory’ of the Christian life—we commit to further regular participation—to Sunday School, to Bible Studies, to ministries that help the needy or support the life of the church, to Christian relationships where we share the stories of the greats of the faith, and where we seek a closer walk with God together. This is how we learn gifts that last more than a lifetime, full of majesty and mystery.
How are you teaching the faith to others? How are you learning or going deeper with Christ?
Yours in Christ,
-Tom