Blog
By: Jeff Cluver
Last Friday I had the sincere pleasure of sitting in on the Affirmation conversations here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Listening to these young people talking about their faith journeys took me back to when I was a young man, and I couldn’t help but compare their statements to what I would have said when I was their age. You see, back then I was just checking off the boxes. I grew up in the LCMS. I got baptized (check), I went to Sunday school and church (check), I went to Saturday school and VBS in the summers (check), and I completed Confirmation (check). All my boxes got checked; I was done. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe; it just took me until I was in my early twenties to finally acknowledged Jesus in my heart as my Savior.
Like me at that age, some of these young people were timid and shy, never looking up from their papers and only answering questions when directly asked. Unlike me at that age, some of them were bold in their statements and confident in the love that their Savior has for them. Some were honest with us and themselves that they are still struggling with what it is that they believe exactly. But all of them confessed with their lips that Jesus is the Lord of their life and the one to whom they turn to in times of trouble.
These are some examples of statements that touched me deeply:
“When I am sad, my tears are His.”
“Being confirmed will help me thrive in my journey with God.”
“Jesus needs me and I need Him.”
“I know that my faith will blossom into something great.”
and my favorite is, “He is crazy in love with us.”
These examples clearly showed me that these Confirmands understand that they aren’t “done,” that learning about Jesus is a life-long journey and that there is more to it; that we respond to His love for us. They understand that He has plans for us to spread His love to a world that desperately needs Him. Most of all, it shows me that they understand just how much Jesus loves them, that He is crazy in love with us and holds our tears in His hands.
I invite you all to pray with me for these young people, that they continue to grow in their faith journey, that they would trust in God’s plans for their lives, and that they fearlessly spread the love of Christ to those around them all to the glory of God. Amen.
