Walks of Faith

A man, driven by the grace of God, stands in the water above the stage of our church; he's ready to publicly share his faith in Christ and be baptized in front of our congregation. I do not know him. Pastor asks him the same questions I was asked at age 8, standing in that water wearing a purple jumpsuit with a frog shirt. We have the same answers.
_

A woman, bound to her wheelchair for reasons I am not privy to, wheels her way down to the altar. Her husband follows; his arm is in a sling. The Congregation is still getting over the first baptism and a short worshipping before this event. I wonder what is happening. The pastor tells us that the lady wishes to be baptized as well. Murmurs spread. How is she to be baptized when she cannot be submerged? The pastor has a way though. Together with our assistant music pastor, they pour water over her forehead and into a bowl. We all clap.

_

An eight-year-old is escorted to the alter later. Her name escapes me. She is small and scrawny; a picture of a kitten leaps to mind. Pastor tells us that she wants to be saved and come to God. We all clap and congratulate her. She reminds me of someone. Oh yeah, me. Except I stood in our dimly lit gym, sweating through my sweater-vest. We are still the same.
_

We. Not I. Not 'Me', but WE. We may all be different. The Man, The Lady, The Girl and I; we all share the same qualities, we all have similar beliefs. Maybe that woman was like me as a child. Maybe that girl had sisters who'd accepted Christ and longed to do the same. Maybe that man was afraid of what his family would think; my friends were my worries. We share things in Christ without knowing it. All four of us are a We. We have a savior who loves us. We are saved by his blood, as are we forgiven of our sins. It doesn't matter whether I am a baptist and the girl who sits next to me in geometry is a Methodist. Not really. Labels schmables! We are both Christians. I can talk to her about God and respect her beliefs. That Lutheran down the street is my best friend. Is that so bad?

Pastor stops in the middle of the sermon. I look up from my bible as he tells people to help her. A lady  across the walk is having a seizure. The lady next to her jumps to her aid as the man behind her holds her down. I don't know what the man, lady, or girl was thinking, but I knew one thing we all did at that moment. We were praying.