Dear Friends:

How do you see yourself?   What defines who you are?

We begins our life as our parents' son or daughter.

We may be a brother or sister. We are grandchildren, 

maybe nieces or nephews and cousins.  In time we may 

become a beloved spouse and a mom or dad.

Our education and occupations can define us, too.  Friends,

civic commitments and church membership are also part of 

who we are. 

However, as Christians we hold sacred a primary,pre-eminent identity.  Given at our baptism.  This is especially seen in the sacrament of infant baptism.  

My Baptist roots made me suspicious of infant baptism.  Yet 

when we baptize an infant, we celebrate the unmerited grace 

of God's claim.  Before the baby can be anything, give any-

thing, or achieve anything, 

God says this child is mine....forever.

The Christian life is less about being good and trusting in our worthiness and more about remembering this gracious truth:  

God's claim - God's choice - of us.

In time identities change: families disperse, loved ones die, 

friends move on, jobs retire.  What endures is the gift of God's choice.

We sang Grandpa's favorite hymn "I'm a Child of the King" 

at his funeral.  He was right.  To live into, to love and to trust 

in God's gift of identity is out greatest gift.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Steve