We need to find a church.
It'd be nice if we could begin with finding a denomination.
Rebecca was raised exclusively Catholic, which included Catholic school when she was young. I was raised Lutheran, spent some time in the Baptist church, and have attended Catholic mass from time to time.
With the birth of our daughter, it's become important that we find a church we're comfortable in, and pass along our faith.
Unfortunately, the path of my spiritual journey has taken me to a place where it's difficult to re-acclimate myself to organized religion.
But since my marriage - and now the birth of my daughter - I've come to realize that it's no longer about me.
While we're responsible for giving her proper nutrition, teaching her how to behave in public, and providing her a good education, we're also responsible for the eternity of her soul.
We will raise her in a home where she can come to know God, understand his teachings and philosophy, know their origins, and respect that others might feel differently.
Thankfully, because she'll grow up in my house, I can sit her down and teach her.
As far as getting the word out to others, I've never been comfortable trying to bring someone to God unsolicited.
Respectfully, I am not someone who will march into the streets like a good Christian soldier and begin telling everyone what my faith in Christianity has done for my life, and in return, what it can do for yours.
I do not believe it's a very effective way of bringing people to God.
While I do not like using bible verses to support an argument (I believe they're often taken way out of context), bear with me. Recently, I was reminded of one of the more popular verses, Matthew 28:19. Here's the entire paragraph:
I interpret this passage to mean showing God within myself... showing people that I believe, and letting that do the work.
Once it becomes evident, that's when the real work begins: showing people what Christianity can do for one's life.
But isn't that what it's all about: showing the existence of God through yourself, which proves to others that lives can be changed?
It'd be nice if we could begin with finding a denomination.
Rebecca was raised exclusively Catholic, which included Catholic school when she was young. I was raised Lutheran, spent some time in the Baptist church, and have attended Catholic mass from time to time.
With the birth of our daughter, it's become important that we find a church we're comfortable in, and pass along our faith.
Unfortunately, the path of my spiritual journey has taken me to a place where it's difficult to re-acclimate myself to organized religion.
But since my marriage - and now the birth of my daughter - I've come to realize that it's no longer about me.
While we're responsible for giving her proper nutrition, teaching her how to behave in public, and providing her a good education, we're also responsible for the eternity of her soul.
We will raise her in a home where she can come to know God, understand his teachings and philosophy, know their origins, and respect that others might feel differently.
Thankfully, because she'll grow up in my house, I can sit her down and teach her.
As far as getting the word out to others, I've never been comfortable trying to bring someone to God unsolicited.
Respectfully, I am not someone who will march into the streets like a good Christian soldier and begin telling everyone what my faith in Christianity has done for my life, and in return, what it can do for yours.
I do not believe it's a very effective way of bringing people to God.
While I do not like using bible verses to support an argument (I believe they're often taken way out of context), bear with me. Recently, I was reminded of one of the more popular verses, Matthew 28:19. Here's the entire paragraph:
Matthew 28:18-20 - 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."Reading the passage, I do not believe it's my job to hand out literature door to door, or sit a person down and begin telling them why their life needs to change, or tell them how Christianity has changed my life.
I interpret this passage to mean showing God within myself... showing people that I believe, and letting that do the work.
Once it becomes evident, that's when the real work begins: showing people what Christianity can do for one's life.
But isn't that what it's all about: showing the existence of God through yourself, which proves to others that lives can be changed?
