Fearlessly Faithful

For years, I used these words as part of baptism preparation with young couples. On one of the three evenings, I would invite them to name some of the special Christians in their lives, ones who had influenced them, and to tell what made them significant. At first they would sit and stare blankly, unable or too shy to name anyone. After I prompted them with a few stories, their own stories would emerge. They would thoroughly enjoy telling these stories of the special people of faith in their lives.
The psalmist takes an exuberant delight in the stories of the past—the marvelous activity of God, the special people in that past, the wonders and truths tucked away in history. The Israelites persistently and consistently retell the stories of God’s wonders. This psalm invites us to do the same, to savor the faith stories of the past. We tell these tales because they nourish us. We take courage in these saints of the past when we have lost our own.
In many religious traditions, the parents commit at their child’s baptism to telling him or her these faith stories. But we all need this refreshing of memory. We need to rediscover that we are all rich in such tales. Here are some questions that may call your stories to mind:
• Which biblical stories move you the most?
• Who of your previous ministers or church leaders
helped to shape you?
• Which family members have taught you about faith?
• Which contemporary Christians inspire you?
We not only recall these stories; we look for opportunities to celebrate them with other Christians.