Where Did You Find God Today?

This weekend my great-niece, Rachel, was christened. That means, before the congregation and God, her parents dedicated her to being raised as a Christian.

I became her God parent. God parents, unlike parents and grandparents, do not have to be blood relatives, but rather are related through the blood of the Lamb.  I vowed to help bring up Rachel knowing the love of Christ, to turn to Him and renounce the devil, and to lead a Godly life. I will also pray for her to grow in faith and that one day, when she is a lot older than 110 days,  she will make the leap from knowing about the love of Christ to claiming him as her Savior which dwells in her heart.

Rachel wore a christening gown that had been in the family for generations. But in the ceremony, she was clothed in the faith. Water from the Jordan River was poured over her head and she received an anointing of oils scented from spices as is mentioned in Exodus 30:24. She was sealed as belonging to the body of believers in Christ.

As I watched the water cascade down her head, His love flooded my heart. I saw my family standing there all smiles – my brother and his wife, my sister, my son, my niece who is Rachel’s mother, and my other niece with her husband.  We are bound by more than genetics or matrimonial law.

More of what is common binds us than makes us different.  We live in different cities but are all Texans.  We have different hair and skin tones but all speak English as our native language. We are at different economic levels but all are blessed to have roofs over our heads. Most of all, even though we may belong to different denominations, we are bound as one in the Holy Spirit.

Is that not true for the whole body of Christ? Should we not concentrate on that more than the importance of worship traditions and practices? Should not the fact that we believe in Christ as Savior bind us together more than how we express that belief keep us apart?

I saw God in the smiles of my family as a baby’s head was watered and oiled in an ancient ceremony steeped in tradition and purpose. I thought of all the other babies through the centuries who went through this ceremony as smiling congregations watched and God parents vowed to raise them up in the faith to be part of the family of Christ.

I felt so blessed to be part of a family where so many of its members have made that leap of faith to claim Christ as their Lord. I pray Rachel and her two sisters will make that same decision someday.  No pun intended, but with so many of us bound by faith, little Rachel is bound to catch on.