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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 11, 2006 IMPRINT |
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Frontline Devotion for Wednesday, January 11, 2006 by Penny Risen
When the town put a new sidewalk in front of the house, two boys were ready to leave their mark. Perched on the front porch steps, the pair watched the cement truck and work crew finish that afternoon. Mom went inside to fix dinner and the time was right. The cool, gray surface had settled for a while, so when they eagerly knelt down their small hands pressed smoothly into the goop, leaving sharp outlines of four palms and 20 fingers. Mom appeared with a long wood kitchen spoon, and with the thin handle she drew the date of their imprint into neighborhood history.
As months passed, the imprints witnessed tricycle and bike treads, water-balloon fights, pastel chalk artwork, yard sales, fallen leaves, ice and snow. Looking down to spy their four hands captured in cement was reassuring and a wonder to the boys, who repeated to themselves: “Yup, these are ours --- we made them. They belong to us!”
A few years later, the small handprints in the single cement panel were among the last things the boys saw as the family van pulled out of the driveway and headed East toward a new home and neighborhood.
“By means of His one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which He has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of His Resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain.”
The Message Bible, verse 13
Through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, believers are one in Christ Jesus, belonging to and relying on God for everything by His grace. His imprint is on us and we are His, the apostle Paul explains. In this letter, Paul addresses the worldly people of Corinth --- a large Greek port city with a rich legacy of culture, history and worship of multiple gods. The Corinthians pursue both knowledge and pleasure: Two of their largest temples are devoted to Apollo, the god of wisdom, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It is important to Paul to establish the church in such a large and varied city of Jews, Romans, Greeks, gentiles and new believers. As baptized Christians, they can be one.
]God will put His baptismal blessing on them and His imprint will guide their lives, Paul tells the church in Corinth. They can no longer split their loyalties between gods or indulge in sinful ways that defy and disrupt their life in Christ. With God’s hand upon their lives, their Christian unity is crucial to growing as a new church. Whether Jew, Greek, slave or free, they are set apart by baptism with other Christians into the Body of Jesus Christ. This unity relies on one Faith, one Body, and one Lord.
Since many of us were baptized as babies, we do not remember the water, the words or the pastor making the sign of the Cross upon our foreheads that day. But we do carry God’s imprint on our lives wherever we go and whatever we do. As one with the Body, we not only acknowledge His love and grace but also respond to our Christian brothers and sisters. Our lives follow the same path now --- marked by joys and sorrows --- but all under God’s and each other’s caring gaze.
Like the little boys’ reassuring handprints in their sidewalk, we carry God’s imprint of baptism upon us. He reminds us daily: ”Yes, You are mine --- I made you. You belong to me!”
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, I’m so very glad to be called Your child. Help me to remember Your love for all Christians when I see a child baptized, or welcome a new member into Your church family. Bless my church with unity and help it to reach out to those who yearn for Your imprint on their lives. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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