Communion Affirmation of Faith

Brilyn has been asking for about 2 years if she can participate in communion at church. We have held off, because we take it seriously. "Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Corinthians 11)
So, I was waiting to see fruit in her life that absolutely would confirm her faith and commitment to Christ. And, then, I started seeing it. Real heart change. Real fruit of the Spirit that cannot be faked. Love, joy, and peace just flowing out of her. And generosity! Such a giving spirit. She's at the age where "Me and Mine" usually reign supreme, but she is all about caring for others. So, it's time for her to join the body of believers in communion. Oh happy day! To mark the day, give weight to the importance of the occasion, and to make sure she has a solid belief and understanding before partaking of the elements, we will ask her a few questions before the church on the day she receives communion for the first time.

Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the
Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now
seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* Church, the communion of
saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life
everlasting?
Do you understand that the bread and the wine represent Christ's body and blood
which was shed for you, that your sins might be forgiven?

To each question Brilyn will answer, "I do."
Celebrant:  "This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess
it, in Christ Jesus our Lord."
All: "Amen."

I was going over these questions with Brilyn, to explain anything she might have questions about, and to clarify any complicated language.

What a beautiful conversation we had! How blessed am I to have a lovely daughter who loves God, and who, in the communion of saints, is also my sister! She was so excited when we talked about that. She said, "So, you're my sister, daddy's my brother, and Jesus is our brother, and God is our Father? Cool!" She also observed, "So, the communion of saints is like one big party of all the people who ever believed in Jesus that goes forever and ever?"

At the end of the conversation, we were talking about baptism, and I said that you get baptized when you decide to follow Jesus. She said, " Oh! I want to follow Jesus. I want to be a disciple, just like Jesus' disciples a long time ago, and follow Jesus around for real."  And then after a pause, "Does that mean I need to give away my ponies? Because Jesus said to give our stuff away and follow Him. But, that would be hard because my ponies all have personalities and if I give them away I would really miss them." We talked that one over for a long time, and then she said, "Well, I could give them away for a really important reason, if God told me to."

Hallelujah!  We should let her preach, she puts things so plainly. Praise God that He has given her such understanding of spiritual things.

XO
Joce

*of, relating to, or forming the church universal