Will our children have faith is a question we all must ask ourselves ….  It is similar to asking:  will our children graduate from college….  Will they get good jobs?

It would only take one generation of no faith in order for Christianity to reach the existence of the Greek and Roman God beliefs.

What we are talking about is something that reaches to the deepest depths of the human psyche.  Faith dwells in the deepest levels of our existence.   It is something that cannot be given...like an ice cream or even a good education.

Faith is a foundation for living …..a way of life… a way to look at life and a way to respond to the challenges of living.

Dan Wakefield in his book “How do we know that it’s God” writes:

Faith is not static nor is it a state or condition you arrive at and settle down in comfortably having “Found It”, like a hidden Easter Egg or an answer to the meaning of life.

Faith is dynamic, changing, and challenging taking new shapes and forms, fading for a while (maybe) and then manifesting in ways you least expect, sometimes subtly, sometimes shaking the very foundation of your being.”

For me faith is the presence of God in my daily living.  This expresses itself in my talk with God, my learning and development, and my actions and interactions with others.

But also it is my walks on the beach were I can enter into a dimension of life were I can project back or forward to reflect on my current situation in life.   It is the who I am, and what I can become in relationship to God. 

In Thomas Merton’s poem “The Risen Christ” the following relationship to Jesus is formulated:  “Jesus walking before me, sometimes besides me, sometimes inside me, not as a visual image but simply a presence."

These words should seem familiar in the fact that it is the basis of my benediction, almost unbroken for the past 15 years here.

Should these words not be a model for our children?

As they walk into the world unattended by a parent, should we not wish for the presence of Christ in their lives?

Think of the Mom or Dad who places their Kindergartener on the bus for the first time…going off into the world on their own.   A presence of the Holy for any child to take and make part of their living.

But really does this not speak to the child in each of us.  That deepest need for security … the need for fulfillment….of the need for answers in a time of uncertainty?

The Christian writer Father Nouwen has stated:  “Christianity is not about getting your life together.” 

He saw Christianity as a way of meeting the challenges of living with Christ as our companion on that journey.

This begs my second question:  “What will our children have faith in???????

We have sports heroes sink into steroid addiction.

Political leaders who pocket money for themselves instead of advocating for the people they are elected to serve.

Even spiritual leaders have broken the sacred trust and hurt and abused the very charges they are entrusted to nurture.

What should we and our children have faith in????

Money and wealth seemed a sure bet… that is until the recent past.   All of us here have amassed a great deal of “stuff” based on the world standard.

Do we teach our children that “He who has the most toys when they die, wins?”

At the end of an economic crisis what is left?

It has become my understanding, as I walk on the ‘beach of life’ that God not only places Jesus as the rock or anchor of our lives, but also God places my friends and those whom I have interactions with.

A friend this week shared a realization from his experience of the week past with two simple words:  “Time Heals”.  Little did he know the effect those words have for me as I wrestled with turmoil within my secular career.

Two words gave me the boost to face some daunting and extremely ethical questions that I was facing this week.

Faith breaks the normative mold.  It allows us to reach out and up when we are in trouble.  It gives us power to face situations in new and creative ways.  It gives us the power to step back and view the entire picture of our lives.   Faith gives us the assurance that those things that I ought not to have done are truly forgiven in the sight of a loving God.  Those burdens I can leave behind.

It is amazing to me that Lou Gehring in 1939 in his farewell speech at Yankee Stadium said: “I am the luckiest man on

earth.”  This is from a person who has just found out that he will die a slow and painful death due to ALS.   A successful baseball career extinguished, and yet he felt he was the ‘Luckiest’.

The story does not end there, real healing took place that day.  The first person to hug Gehring following his speech was none other that Babe Ruth.  They had become distant and rivals years before.  Healing took place at Yankee Stadium that day.

I want the children of our church to face life’s difficulties, challenges, and even tragedies with the faith of a Lou Gehring.

I want the children to have a faith that is based on a loving God who calls them and us no matter where we find ourselves.

Maybe you yourself are not sure about God, faith… today.

Then may I suggest that you pray or just ask the question:

“Lord if you are there, make yourself known in my heart…

Allow me to feel your love…  Allow me the faith of a child.”

Our children will have faith if we provide the foundation.

A nurturing loving environment, like the wonder of this marvelous carnival.

Have you ever heard the prayers of a child… the sweet innocence... the trust… the sense of love…

This is the real stuff for the foundation of life… of faith…

Listen carefully there you will find your own faith.

       Amen.