My Statement of Faith
I want to live for God. God created me, and I want to live a grateful life in response. I want to sing a song of praise to God with every act I do. I want to dance my gratitude with my every thought. I want to dedicate my every possession to God's glory. I want to encounter that which is divine in everyone I meet. I want to feel God's love surrounding me, and to be a channel through which that love may flow into the world. I want to live for God.
While we will never understand all there is to know about God, I believe our understanding will be most complete when we view God through a Trinitarian lens. All that we can know about God is that which God reveals to us. And that revelation is what we call the "Word of God." The Word is God revealing God to humanity.
This Word of God is first and foremost our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was sent by God the Father, and brought to our experience and understanding by faith inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of John begins with this same claim,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of Grace and Truth."
The Word of God is also Scripture as it is read by the believer, proclaimed from the pulpit, and enacted in the Sacraments. In Scripture, God the creator is portrayed as the source of all that is, and from this creator comes many statements as to what we "ought to do," like theTen Commandments and the Golden Rule. In Scripture, Jesus Christ is portrayed as the Savior, and from this Savior comes many statements as to what we "can do or may do" if we choose, like giving away all we have, and following him, or accepting God's gift of eternal and abundant life. In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is portrayed as the breath of God, working in believers to bring about faith, and from this Holy Spirit comes many statements as to what we "get to do" as believers, such as living in loving community with each other or demonstrating and proclaiming the good news to others by how we serve and love, how we walk and talk, how we live and move and have our being in God.
The Word of God can also be revealed to us today through other people, much like God spoke through Nathan when he confronted David with the truth of his relationship with Bathsheeba. It is because the Spirit of God is able to act and work in people today that we are able to make the claim that we are a church that is reformed, yet always reforming, and why we find committees to be a viable avenue for discerning God's will for the church.
Because God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we may be assured that if and when we experience God today, the God we experience will be consonant with the God encountered in Scripture. In fact, it is these encounters with God that remain consistent over time. We change, culture changes, but God remains the same.
The God that Jesus shows us, and Scripture reveals to us, and the Spirit helps us encounter, is a God who loves us, who wants the best for us, who is willing to give to us with no strings attached. This God forgives us for our sinfulness, while challenging us to repent and live life anew. This God reconciles us with those who have hurt us. This God heals the wounded parts of our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. This God comforts us through all that life may bring our way, while always confronting us with areas in which we can grow.
Is it any wonder that we gather to praise and glorify this God? Is it any wonder that we attempt to do what we ought, and choose God's saving grace, and search for ways we get to show God's love to the world? Is it any wonder that we are excited by the spiritual journey we are traveling?
Hallelujah! AMEN.
