Building Christian faith takes a lifetime of learning

There is somewhat sad joke about two pastor friends who were talking with one another.

The Baptist pastor in a small town had found bats in his church. He tried all sorts of remedies, including paying exterminators, but the bats remained. He shared his problem with a friend, the Lutheran pastor. This Lutheran pastor offered to take care of the bats.

“Really?” the Baptist pastor wondered.

“Sure,” assured the Lutheran pastor.

A week later the bats were gone. The Baptist pastor asked his friend, “What did you do?” The Lutheran Pastor explained, “I confirmed them. You won’t see them again.”

This joke is an overstatement, but sometimes after a young person has attended confirmation classes for a number of years and goes through the confirmation ceremony he or she becomes somewhat scarce. The goal of confirmation classes is to encourage a lifetime of Christian growth. But sometimes goals are not fully realized.

I share this sad joke because of a source of joy I have right now. We have more than 30 middle school students in four confirmation classes.

The early teen years are a time when young people are full of life. These confirmation students are positive about learning about Jesus and working to become friends with other Christian young people. While 20 to 30 middle school students can turn up the volume, these students have truly been positive and eager to learn. To see young people who are full of life and excited about learning about Jesus brings joy to any Christian pastor.

So, pondering the joke above, do you think that when middle school students finish confirmation classes they know everything they need to know for life? I think we all know that the need to learn and grow does not end with a certificate or a diploma. Christian learning is a lifetime need.

Most professions and trades include expectations of continuing education because there are always needs to remember what has been learned and to learn new information. That is not just true for professionals, or even for middle school confirmation students, this is true for all Christians. There is always room to grow.

God used St. Peter to share the need for growth with the Church. Writing to a church that had faced persecution and temptation, as a summary of his two letters Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

This growth Christians need is more than growth in knowledge. We need to grow in maturity in facing the challenges of life with the assurance of God’s saving love in Jesus. We need to grow in wisdom to live as a child of God. We need to grow in mercy and forgiveness. All of these needs are helped with increased understanding of God’s Word, which shares his love and his direction for life. All of these needs for growth are helped by the work of God’s spirit in the lives of people of faith.

But when professional people seek to grow, they don’t just expect that they will learn without planned effort. They enroll in a class. When parents and young people seek to encourage growth at a vital time in the life of an adolescent, they take part in a planned confirmation class.

Do you ever recognize a need to understand the Scriptures better? Do you ever wish for a stronger faith? Do you see a need in yourself for godly wisdom in times of life’s challenges? What is your plan to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus?

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer.

Opinions expressed on the Faith page are the author’s and are not necessarily those of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, its staff or its parent company, Wick Communications Co. To submit a column or other news for the Faith page, send email to news@frontiersman.com, or call 352-2268.