While we have been proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ for years, the past few years doing this work full time has seen many milestones that remind us of God's faithfulness and love. We have seen the salvation of our two oldest children, and the salvation of many souls. Most often, we till up the ground and sow the seed of the Gospel. Sometimes we water the seed that was planted by another, and sometimes we get to take part in the harvest. Still, we know that salvation is not the only result of what God wants from this ministry.
LeAnna is a young lady that stayed in our home for a few months while in her senior year of high school. We had many opportunities back then to share the Gospel with Leanna, to serve as examples of the Christian walk and how a family dedicated to the Lord should be. Often times, we failed, but we thank God that He is faithful to forgive us as we confess our sin and seek to be conformed into the image of Christ more as the days pass. One night at our home (which was where the youth group from our church met) we had guests in, and LeAnna's life changed forever that night.
Chad Mattson and Mike Gomez of the band Unspoken came to our home to share some songs with us, and to share testimonies of how God drew them by His love and mercy, but most importantly how they both had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It was that night that things "clicked" for LeAnna. She acknowledged her sin before God and privately asked God to grant her salvation by faith in Christ. Now, here we are 6 or 7 years later and I had the privilege to baptize not only LeAnna, but her husband, Rory. Rory accepted Christ this past winter, and we felt so blessed to be asked to take part in this public proclamation of faith and commitment to God.
We decided to baptize Rory first, as the head of their family, and then LeAnna next. This picture of leadership and commitment to lead the family in obedience to the Lord was not missed by those attending, and I pray that if there were some present who have not experienced God's gift of salvation, that this example will serve to plant a seed, or to water seeds already planted. I shared the Gospel and shared the story of Mark 1:9-11, Romans 6:3-11, and the Ethiopian eunuch's story with Philip. We then followed the example of Jesus Christ in going down into the water, and being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Looking into Matthew 28:19-20 I often encourage people to preach the Gospel, but that passage goes on to tell us to baptize those who believe in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are then charged to teach the things that God has commanded. Surely, there is much room to grow, and we pray that there are many years of faithful service to God still left in their future. We thank God that many have taken the job seriously, pastors and teachers, evangelists, and many other Christians of all gifts and roles that have taken the time to continue to teach and lead by example. Salvation is a new birth, but maturity comes over time as we learn to trust the Lord in all things, giving Him the glory that is due for everything.
The end result of receiving the Gospel is not just salvation from judgment, but sanctification and justification, edification and growth into the stature of a mature Christian that lives and walks in the spirit, and that reaches others with the Gospel message. I thank God for the examples in God's Word that encourage and challenge us that we are not finished with this work of the Lord until God calls us home through death, or when Christ comes to take His children home.
