Why Soldiers Miss War

I just read an article with an accompanying interview on a reporter who really seems to "get it" with regard to why soldiers miss war: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/sebastian-junger-why-soldiers-miss-war-122426898.html.

It's not a morbid love of combat or trauma, but more a sense of moral purpose, especially as it pertains to the "band of brothers" that serve together.

Though not a soldier himself, Junger has a heart-deep understanding of this principle through his year embedded in a remote outpost in Afghanistan, his injuries due to an IED blast, and the loss of his fellow reporter, Tim Hetherington, in Libya (the two of them had teamed up on the hit documentary, Restrepo).

Junger's link between survivor's guilt and PTSD is particularly insightful.

Speaking of Band of Brothers, I just watched the whole series for the first time. Certainly wouldn't have appreciated it a few years ago like I do now. It's the psychological portraits that particularly grab me.

There was one lieutenant during the battle for Bastogne, who watched from his foxhole as two of his soldiers and closest friends were both maimed in a bombardment. While the lieutenant wasn't physically injured and had served valiantly since D-Day, that experience broke him and ended the war for him.

Toward the end of the war, another lieutenant almost broke when he received news that his wife was not only divorcing him, but was even taking his dog.

And there was the pervasive sense in the closing days of the campaign in Europe that every soldier must be kept from harm. They were close to going home! And every time a soldier died thereafter, often from stupid things like car accidents, it was an unmitigated tragedy.

Finally, the emotions of the war were stretched upon the withered faces of the veterans who in their old age introduced each episode. A half century after the fact, they still wept for their friends and the war that forever changed them.

The wounds of war heal, but the scars never fade.

How Do You Grow in Grace?

There is a big debate brewing of the wider Christian blogosphere on the matter of sanctification, or how we are made increasingly holy in Christ. Historically, this debate is not unexpected, as we just through a two decade debate on the matter of justification, or how we are made right with God in Christ. Typically, as in the Christian life, the former follows the latter.

But with every debate, there is an opportunity to refine one's comprehension of biblical truth and grasp the beauty and the power of the Gospel with greater depth, love, and reverence.

First, let's define a couple of terms:

When someone receives and rests upon Christ alone for their salvation, it is because they have first been effectually called. Effectual calling, according to Westminster Shorter Catechism 31, "is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel."

So the Christian life begins with Christ calling us to saving faith, and giving us such saving faith, by His Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:8-9). As with the disciples, He looks upon and calls us before we follow Him (Mark 1). We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

WSC 32 then tells us that "They that are effectually called do in this life partake of justification, adoption, and sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them." Here then our three of the primary facets of the Christian life:

Justification, which is "an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone" (WSC 33).

Adoption, which is "an act of God’s free grace,a whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God" (WSC 34).

Sanctification, which is "the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness" (WSC 35).

The WSC then tells us that the benefits that accompany or flow from these acts/works of God's grace are an "assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end" (36). Don't you love how simply and logically the WSC outlines these basic Biblical truths?

So when Christ calls us and unites us to Himself by grace through faith, we are justified, adopted, and begin the process of being sanctified. All of these are acts/works of "God's free grace."

As mentioned before, we just passed through another healthy season of debates on justification, in which the truth that we're pardoned of all our sins and accepted as righteous in His sight is only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. This righteousness is not infused in us, as Rome claims, so that our righteousness is made acceptable to God. Nor do we add any righteousness of our own, since it only constitutes filthy rags in the sight of God (Is. 64:6).

Sanctification is a more tricky animal, in the sense that it is an ongoing work, and thus a practical struggle in our daily lives. Like justification, we confess that sanctification is wholly of God's free grace, but what are the means of that grace that enable us to "die unto to sin, and live unto righteousness?" (cf. Rom. 6).

Is it not Christ, operating by Word and Spirit (Acts 1) through the preaching of the Word (Rom. 10) and the sacraments (Acts 2; 1 Cor. 10-11)? But, acknowledging our own responsibility in this regard, are we not called to "meditate on the Word day and night" (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2) and set "our minds on things above" (Col. 3:1-4) in prayer?

Brothers and sisters on both sides of the sanctification debate will likely respond in the affirmative to both of those questions. But there is a more specific question that seems to be at the nub of this debate: How is God's Word to be preached and other utilized for the growth of God's people and the glory of His name? Do we focus on the Gospel to spur sinners on toward good deeds, or do we focus on the Law?

On The Gospel Coalition website, Tullian Tchividjian (grandson of Billy Graham) is arguing for the former, while Kevin DeYoung and Richard Phillips are arguing more for the latter

They all agree that the Law should be used to convict sinners in order to drive them to the cross ("Second Use of the Law") and to instruct Christians in the duties that God requires of them ("Third Use of the Law").

Tullian argues that it is only the Gospel that transforms Christians and that it is the Gospel, and Christ's perfect obedience to the Law on our behalf, that should be stressed in preaching. The others would argue that the Law is meant to give Christians a good kick in the pants and can also be used for their conviction and growth. They also question whether Tullian firmly believes in the third use of the Law.

It seems that they probably agree on about 90% of the sanctification issue, and that is what should be stressed as we consider how it is that we grow in grace:

Just as we are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, we are grown by God's grace through faith in Christ. As plants in the Gardener's care, we cannot grow ourselves, but can only grow when tended by the sunshine of God's Word and the nourishing rain of His Spirit.

God appoints certain means to grow us, and we should take advantage of those means of grace. God calls us to worship on the Lord's Day in order to feed us upon His grace and send us back into the world. He calls us to constant meditation upon His Word, prayer, and fellowship (Heb. 10:24-25). While we are as helpless as plants in our own growth, God calls us to grown where there is rain and sunshine. And even this call would be impossible for us to heed, unless Christ Himself enabled our wills to avail ourselves of the rain and shine (Phil. 2:13).

All of this should guide us to praise His name. When we consider how much we need His grace, not only for our salvation, but for our day to day living, do we not weep in sorrow at our sin? But in the same vein, knowing that His grace is new every morning, and that the Father of good gifts will never change (James 1), are our tears not mingled with profound hope and joy?

As we experience the painful process of our sanctification that occurs between our justification and glorification (when we will be rid of all sin and live in perfect fellowship with our Savior), are we not filled with mingled grief and gratitude? And does this painful process not lead us to affix our eyes on the throne of grace in prayer, where Christ ever intercedes for us? And does it not affix our eyes to the throne of grace that awaits us at the end of our days, when our petty struggle with sin is finally made a thing of the past? And do we not endeavor after new obedience as a result?

As a final note, perhaps the glue that will bind these debates to greater humility and gratitude is the oft-overlooked and precious truth of adoption. All men have free will, but we our only given the ability to utilize that will in service of God when He captures our hearts by His grace. We yearn after Him--and debate these issues to gaze upon His beauty with greater clarity--because we have been adopted to His family. We take these issues to the Almighty God without fear because He is our Daddy, caring for us in our sorrows and stumbling and delighting in our growth and grace.

Let us place the profound truths of our justification and sanctification in Christ into the cradle of our adoption in Christ, and rejoice that our Daddy will carry us like a father carries a child through this wasting wilderness of sin into the Promised Land of His glory (Deut. 1:31).

Three War-Related Movies to Watch This Year

I think the occasional war movie is a healthy part of one's viewing diet, especially as these movies remind us of the persistent reality of ongoing bloodshed in this broken world and the cost necessitated to maintain order amidst the chaos.

Band of Brothers is always an obvious pick for a list such as this, so I will exclude it for that reason. Here are three movies you haven't watched in a while (or at all) that will be worth your time (all of which are based on true stories):

1) We Were Soldiers. I watched this movie again in one of our B-hut office complexes in Afghanistan. What it lacks in character development, it makes up for in showing the unvarnished emotion of war--both for the soldiers and for the families at home. While the Vietnam War shares many similarities with Iraq and Afghanistan (no front lines, no clear identification of combatants and civilians, risk of ambush, etc.), this movie highlights they type of full warfare rarely seen in the modern conflicts. For me, this movie is all about the psychological impact of soldiers/families.

2) Lone Survivor. I hosted a movie night for all of my redeploying soldiers one of our final nights in country, and we watched a bootleg copy of this movie (perfectly legal out there). While most war movies present the big picture with zooming in on individuals, this account was all about a handful of individuals who fought--and largely died--alongside each other. It neither glorifies war or the combatants (their body armor can take a lot of hits and adrenaline and loyalty can keep a wounded soldier in the fight), nor does it disparage them. It shows the uncertainty of decisions made in that environment, and the consequences that follow such decisions. War is messy. Since this takes place in Afghanistan, you'll get a much fuller flavor of elements of life out there.

3) Taking Chance. This made-for-HBO movie followed a Marine colonel who had never deployed and wanted to support our fighting men and women by escorting the body of a fallen Marine home. The story follows the COL and the fallen soldier home to Wyoming, with touching moments of love and patriotism along the way. You will be impressed by the care the military takes for its fallen heroes, as well as the way such tragedy draws people together in grief and in pursuit of comfort.

It also reminds me of the many military funerals I have performed for veterans--from performing the honors alongside veterans from other wars, folding flags, playing TAPS, and looking a grieving widow in the eyes. The first two movies on this list survey the battlefield. The last movie will take you where every fallen soldier must travel: Home.

It Should Have Been Me

"I'm not supposed to be here," I blurted out late one night to my wife.

"What do you mean?" she asked, obviously confused.

I tried to explain the feelings that I can barely put my finger on. Soldiers often feel out of place when they come home. I was certainly feeling that. And, no, it's not because we don't want to be home, but there is a sense of forever being caught between two worlds after a deployment.

I feel like those characters on LOST, who, once they returned to society, realized that they should have never left the island. They weren't meant to come home.

Again, all normal soldier feelings. We have lived in another world and can't figure out which one is reality and which one is the illusion.

But death heightens this disconnect and cements it as a semi-permanent feature of life with mingled grief and guilt.

Words were hard for me. It's hard for me to talk and show grief, but it's also hard for me not to talk and show grief.

I finally choked out, "It should have been me, not Dave."

I watched the tail end of We Were Soldiers last night and felt an immediate connection to Mel Gibson's character--the commander--at the end of the movie. He told his reporter friend who survived the battle that he would never forgive himself. When the reported asked him why, he said with tear-strewn face "Because...because my men died and I didn't."

It may seem morbid, but I kind of expected to die in Afghanistan.

When my wife and son seemed to be in grave danger a year and a half ago, I prayed fervently that the Lord would take me instead of them. It wasn't long after my wife was finally healed up that I was given the surprise notice that I would deploy. Four weeks after my little boy was born, I left home, presuming upon God's providence and figuring that my prayers were answered. I would not be coming home. And that was okay. My wife and baby were safe.

I said a number of final "goodbyes" in my heart before I left--to my tough childhood years, summer breezes and mowed grass, college antics and seminary graces, a wife who I enjoyed my best years with, and a little baby boy who would also be a symbol of hope and life amidst death.

My heart was filled with as much gratitude as grief when I left. Even during times of great struggle out there, my heart was still filled with gratitude. Each time I got on a convoy and went outside the wire, I prayed for our team, reflected with gratitude upon my full life, and prepared myself.

I have enjoyed a full life. People desperately cling to life, holding it like a mouse in hand a la Lenny from Of Mice and Men until it is crushed. God had brought me through so very much. When the truth of Christ broke upon my heart like a thunderstorm upon the desert, it changed everything. Life on earth was no longer the whole picture--just a broken glimpse of the greater picture. That would have been enough, but the Lord also gave me a beloved wife and the baby of my dreams.

I was ready to die. Dave wasn't.

He was just 27 and had barely begun to taste the goodness of the Lord in this life. He would go home, Dana would leave the service, and together they would plant a family and watch it grow.

I have always joked about being an old man, but even at 31, the jokes belie the reality. I have a youthful personality, but an old soul.

If I had died at 31, my wife would have grieved tremendously and my boy would've had a better example in death than in life, but would also miss the life he would never share with his daddy. At least I would've had a boy who missed me--an opportunity Dave and Dana will never have.

I know Dave doesn't regret what happened, and it's not because he's dead. He's not dead. He is enjoying the God of glory--the mystery of His providence that would have Dave somehow spend his last few days on this earth in Afghanistan with his wife by his side. And then, in a flash, His greatest earthly joy was supplanted by His greatest heavenly joy and the Savior's welcome.

And here I am, left to sort out a life I barely recognize--that I didn't really think I would return to. I am home, but I have never felt my pilgrim status more than now. Like a fellow pastor--a Vietnam vet--told me, the memories never leave. You never fully come home. And guilt would be the dominating feature if it wasn't swallowed up in the tender love and grace of Christ.

So I will bear the scars, even if not on my body. I'll grieve those we've lost and a world that will continue to squeeze the heart like a sponge until it goes dry, and look with hope to the Day when the river of life and healing flows unabated. Until that Day, may the Lord grant that I would be a more faithful husband, father, and minister of the Gospel than I would be without the scars, looking to Him whose scars brought healing and peace.

Video Clip From the Day a Hero Died

When a VBIED (vehicle-based IED) struck near our post on December 27th, the alarms started going off, soldiers either ignored them or rushed to their positions or places of cover, and I picked up my Ipod and pressed "record" for a few moments (it's not like I can pick up a weapon).

A few days later, I began to counsel soldiers who were friends with the US airman killed in this attack. A few days after that, I realized that it was CPT David Lyon, a dear young believer who I spent the better part of a night talking with and encouraging when I had been in the north of the country. If I had known then what had happened, I probably would've never started recording.

Please continue to pray for our soldiers overseas. Most are not in gun battles every day, but wait for the random day when they might get ambushed like our departed hero, Dave Lyon.

And please remember Dave's widow, Dana, who was stationed at our post and accompanied the body of her husband back to the States. She bitterly grieves the loss of her husband, but grieves with hope, knowing that they both belong, body and soul, in life and death, to Jesus Christ.

What has happened to our youth: The Way Ahead

In a recent article on American ignorance of Christianity, Janice Shaw Crouse gave this troubling assessment:

"The Pew Forum on Religious Life reports that a third of American adults under the age of 30 have no religious affiliation whatsoever — less religious involvement than either their parents or their grandparents. That shouldn’t surprise anyone because Sunday Schools — one of the major means of Biblical instruction in the past — have been declining since the 1980s. With religious instruction also prohibited in public schools, where would people learn the Bible stories, Biblical history, and Biblical doctrine?"

You know what is most troubling about this assessment? Not the one-third of youth who have no religious affiliation, nor the decline of Sunday Schools (though that does concern me), nor the prohibition of religion in public schools. Rather, it is the assumption in that final question about who will provide religious instruction to our youth: Others. Not the children's own parents. Others.

The Church is charged with the nurture of our children as well as parents, but it starts in the home.

To this point, we have explored what most youth are coming to believe ("moralistic therapeutic deism") and several of the reasons why that may be the case. Recognizing that salvation belongs to the Lord, what are some ways in which we can inculcate our children with the truth, in God's grace?

1) Treat our children as sophisticated, responsible moral agents. Children, as fallen image-bearers of God, have both an inherent dignity and capacity to learn as well as an inborn sinful nature. They must give their own account to God, and their ability to learn that fact as well as many others can begin early. This principle gives rise to many of the practices below.

2) Restore the catechism to its rightful place. Children may stray from the truth, but they shouldn't be able to misrepresent the truth. The former is rebellion problem and reflects more on the children; the latter is an ignorance problem and reflects more on the parents. A child can decide that happiness is his or her purpose in life, but if he/she knows the first question and answer of the Shorter Catechism, he/she will not claim that such a belief is a Christian belief.

The sad truth, as noted by the writer above, is that Sunday School is on the decline in many churches. And this isn't even the worst of it--most Sunday School classes teach children little about Jesus and the core truths of Scripture anyway. Our responsibility as parents is to see that our children are catechized regardless. We can start them on the Children's Catechism, and move on to the Westminster Shorter when they're a bit older.

We can also prod our churches in the right direction. Your elders are not only charged with feeding the flock with preaching, but with teaching (Matt. 28:10-20). Our youth belong to Christ and the elders will be held to account for their shepherding of our youth as well as their parents. If your church lacks catechetical teaching for the youth, encourage them and actively support their efforts to implement such a program.

3) Maintain regular family devotions. I must again confess that I need to master this concept, by God's grace. At bare minimum, this should involve some Scripture reading and prayer with your children each day. And fathers must spearhead this effort. They have greater responsibility as head of the household. Most people I have read or have talked with recommend either mealtimes or bedtime (or both). We will also include the singing of hymns, and based on some recent reading I have done, I would like to incorporate daily Psalms. There is a great deal of freedom in this practice. Tailor it to your family's unique needs, centering it on Word and prayer.

4) Guard the Lord's Day. More than ever, I am convicted concerning how I arrange my priorities. Children not only notice what you say and what you do, but they notice how much you say and do some things, relative to other things. If my son sees me working on my laptop more than he sees me paying attention to him, he will learn that my laptop is more important than him and that he must get between me and the laptop in order to get my love.

In the same way, when we treat the Lord's Day as the Lord's hour, we are communicating to our children the practical point that we neither God nor our weary souls should have the entire day that God has appointed for His worship and our rest and growth. We should pray with our children before Church, ask them questions about the Sunday School class and sermon over lunch, and bring them back for evening worship. In the DC area especially, nothing says "the Lord is my priority" like giving Him our entire day of rest.

5) Work closely with your Church in nurturing your children. It's a tag team effort. Parents and elders both bear a responsibility before the Lord for Christ's little ones. Make sure to track what your children are being taught at Church and make sure to let the elders know how your children are doing. As a practical point, be willing to open your home to the pastors and elders for shepherding visits, and ask them to do so if they are not already.

6) Add the "adversity funnel" to your "freedom funnel" as paradigms for raising children. A wise man once explained to me the concept of a freedom funnel for raising children: You start out with a strict system of rules, and as your children mature, you gradually expand their freedom and responsibility. If the funnel is reversed, going from lax to strict, major clashes will ensue.

In the same way, our children must be exposed to funneled adversity. When they are very little, this might mean just letting play with other toddlers in the Sunday School class or at the playground. As they get a bit older, maybe they can start serving in the community with their parents and wrestle with harder realities (like death). Eventually (preferably before college), we want our children engaging with a wide swath of the local community, whether at school, work, recreational league programs, etc.

As mentioned in the first point, they are responsible moral agents who are accountable to God. We must strive to impress upon them this reality and teach them as best we can to exercise that responsibility on their own. The more they own their faith before others, the safer they will be from a future crisis of conscience that comes when a child has simply ridden upon his/her parents coattails.

7) Model love, repentance, and grace. It is very easy to become legalistic and formulaic in parenting. Part of what makes it so scary is that there is no formula, nor inevitable results. With this in mind, children need to see their parents model unconditional love, repentance, and grace. Rules must be made clear, violations swiftly punished, obedience swiftly praised, and the punished child swiftly reminded that he/she is unconditionally loved.

If your child watches you sin, be quick to repent. It may be humbling to repent to a two year old, but such humiliation points to the Savior who became obedient to death upon a cross for the sake of His people. And we should ground our love, repentance, and grace in the Gospel, working to turn everyday situations into opportunities to further instruct our children in the beauty of the Gospel.

What has happened to our youth: Ways we slip up.

In the last post, we discussed briefly the fact that many youth from Christian households end up forsaking even the most basic of Christian beliefs and instead embrace what was sociologically and popularly labeled "moralistic therapeutic deism."

A great episode on this very issue can be found at the White Horse Inn.

But how did they get to this point?

An important qualifier must be stated from the outset: All parents and churches fall short in every way when it comes to raising children in the love and nurture of the Lord. Our knowledge of man's depravity excludes every possibility of us doing this entirely right. Salvation comes from the Lord. It is our heavenly Father who truly shepherds the soul, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our goal is not as much to check all the boxes, but point to the grace of One whose love is never inadequate.

That said, here are some of trends within the Church and Christian households that can hinder the growth of a little one toward Christ:

Ministry Priorities. As churches feared a decline in cultural influence and stressed the importance of individual evangelism, they lost sight of the most important group: "covenant" children. These children belong to God, who told Abraham concerning His promise of Christ: These promises are for you and your children. I urge you to compare the number of passages concerning outreach with those dealing with raising your children in the faith. The latter dominates the former. That doesn't mean we should neglect to tell others about the love of Jesus, but it starts in the home.

Lack of Substance. Much of the Church fails to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is its sole message. Evangelicals, this is not just the obvious apostasy of the mainline churches that we are talking about. Many of our Gospel-believing churches are not Gospel-proclaiming churches. While Christ said "all these (Scriptures) testify to me," we often say "all these testify to ME." Making moral lessons the focus is not only unfaithful to the Text, but as it tells us what to do rather than telling us what Jesus did, it is simply an expression of the Law. And the Law doesn't transform hearts, the Gospel does.

Fundamentalism. This is a loaded term. In its original sense, it simply meant an orthodox Christian who still believed in the basic tenets of Christianity. It was also often used to attack orthodox Christians, inferring that they are backward and on "the wrong side of history." BUT, in its modern sense, it often refers to those who add to Scripture, imposing an extra moral code to prevent the "appearance of evil," and an extra political code, to make sure someone lines up on the right side of the aisle.

While many parents who subscribe to this worldview believe in Jesus Christ, they practically diminish His work when go beyond Scripture with these codes. I'm not talking about normal rules of wisdom, like "Don't touch the stove." I am talking about those rules like "Don't smoke, drink, or chew or go with those who do" that are given religious sanction though they are complete unbiblical. By restricting Christian freedom, we mis-define sin for our children. At some point, our children will go to a dance of play cards. They will discover that there is nothing inherently evil about either enterprise. They begin to question what they've been taught about sin, then whether they are truly sinners, then whether they truly need a Savior. I've seen many a youth unravel.

Lack of Intentionality. I must confess that this is my primary area of struggle. Even though I have shepherded young adults who resent their parents' lack of spiritual guidance, I struggle to do the same. It feels weird to try to do a morning devotion when I'm still only half awake, knowing that my son sees an open Bible but doesn't understand anything I am saying. It is easy to try to get some work done while I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on him. And how am I supposed to reign in my love for sarcasm, which doesn't make sense and can hurt a guileless child?

My wife sets a great example for me in this regard. Each night before bed, she reads our son a Bible story and sings a hymn with him. She then lets me know they're ready for me, we all sing our evening lullaby ("Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus") together, pray for our son and grace for his nurture, and put him down to sleep.

I had a friend tell me recently how hard it is to watch his words around his kids. I can imagine! But the bottom line, whether it comes to our family devotions, attention and instruction, or our speech, is this: Our children learn what is most important to us, and what is most important for them, from what we go out of our way to intentionally teach them. If they don't see us struggle to keep the Gospel in the fore, feebly as we do, they will question its worth and whether it worth their time.

Being Patronizing. Since when did entertainment become the primary goal of Christian nurture? And since when did we assume that children can't handle basic instruction and teens can't handle wrestling with more sophisticated subjects? The "old" method of nurturing our youth included teaching them the catechism, which helped then learn and articulate the key concepts of the faith, know their Bibles, and have a mental record of what is true in a deceptive world.

Now, many Sunday School and youth programs focus on entertainment. Young people are shown that they are the center of the world because these programs are all about them. Teaching the faith is often an afterthought. I came to Christ through a wonderful youth group that was active in sharing the Gospel, and the number of unbelievers who came to various events often swelled our numbers to double or triple the normal size. But it was impossible to shepherd all these kids, encourage them to profess their faith and join the Church, and get to know their families. The numbers swelled for a few years, but most of these kids, including quite a few of the covenant children, gave it all up when they left for college.

Ownership. Of the dozens of benefits that come with growing up in the Church, a distinct hardship is found in the need for ownership of one's own faith. The Christian father is head and shepherd of the home; the Christian mother often the daily nurturer. Both of them are really stand-ins for God, stewarding children who really belong to Him. We are training our children to have their own relationship with Him, apart from us. And they will only learn to do this as they establish their own identity in Christ, by His grace.

A large part of this comes when a covenant child makes his or her own profession of faith, takes the Lord's Supper, and engages in the body life of the Church on his or her own accord. But this also comes from articulating their faith in the real world. The family and Church are the incubators of faith for Christ's little ones, but they only learn to walk on their own once they are outside the confines of each. They must articulate amidst adversity without falling back on family or Church as a crutch. This is what we're training them for--owning their Savior before the Church and the world.