New Member in the Family

by Hanna Baker

Our church has been eagerly awaiting welcoming a new member into our church family as we are approaching the date that David & Jenn's new baby will be born. A new life is an amazing miracle and blessing, and is surrounded by joy for all concerned.

There is only one miracle that can surpass the birth of a baby. I was privileged to witness that miracle yesterday when I had the opportunity to welcome a new member into the family of God.


In addition to the delight and awe of seeing a friend make the most important decision possible and choose to follow Christ, this also gave me an opportunity to process through what salvation is, and what it means to be a Christian. It's difficult to describe the joy of explaining the message of what Jesus did for us, and the impact that it has on our daily lives. It's so simple, yet takes a life time or more to process.  What is this reality?

• God is holy, and entirely perfect. This perfection, beyond our comprehension, makes it impossible for sin to be in His presence.
• Every person born was born with sin, with the natural tendency to do things wrong. Each of us lies, is jealous, snaps at someone, and does countless other mistakes. Because of God's purity and perfection, the consequence for everything we do has to be death - both physical death as our bodies deteriorate, and spiritual death, eternal separation from God in hell.
  
• Because of God's incredible love for us in spite of our failures, He was willing to sacrifice Himself in order to be near us, and to welcome us back to His presence. With Jesus' death on the cross he took the guilt and burden of every thing we've done and will do, and his resurrection three days later opened the door for us to have life with Him forever.
• We have a choice. Do we accept that free gift, choose to believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be, and rely on God's strength, forgiveness and power to lead us into a relationship with Him and the ability to walk in freedom from our struggles, temptations, hurts and pain? Or will we reject Him, foolishly believing that we can survive this world and whatever happens after death on our own?

Life can still be intensely difficult as a Christian. God doesn't make all our problems go away. He doesn't protect everyone and everything around us, and He doesn't promise that we won't suffer the consequences of living in the world as it is today. What He does do, and does promise, is to be there beside us every step of the way, providing love, comfort, advice, forgiveness and peace. All we have to do is accept, surrender, and ask.

Being able to be a part of someone taking that first exciting huge step is the greatest gift and honor I could ever have. There is nothing better, beyond my own salvation and relationship with my Heavenly Father, than being able to introduce someone else to Him. One less person will suffer a life and eternity in torment. One more person will join us for the celebration of the ages on that day we get to see Him face to face.