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by Colleen PepperI guess it's only natural for kids to re-enact the stuff they see around them. I mean, dressing up, playing house, pretending to fight fires and teach school--it's all somewhat loosely based on reality. And this fact alone best explains why my Barbie dolls went to church so often (in between drives in their convertible and swims in their pool, of course).
You see, I spent a lot of time in church as a child. Bible studies, meetings, two worship services plus Sunday school. We practically lived there. Not surprisingly, the same was true in the world of my Barbie dolls. They had microphones made from Q-tips, hymnbooks of construction paper and uncomfortable pews of cardboard. Even the sanctuary seemed to be inspired by the rather spartan trimmings of our real-life church with only a "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever" banner at the front.
Funny, I can't quite remember which doll pastored our flock, but it was probably Ken. In any case, the Word was preached, and I helped many a doll to their semi-jointed knees while their plastic friends sang repeated strains of "Just as I Am."
It all seems like eons ago and to tell you the truth, I haven't really thought about it very much. Until last night, that is, when I realized that those dolls are quite possibly the only souls I've helped usher into the Kingdom (and somehow, I don't think they count). Regrettably, what seemed so easy in childhood has eluded me as an adult.
It's not that I haven't thought about it. In fact, just the opposite. I've probably thought about it too much. The lively conversations between Ken and Barbie have been replaced by hypothetical witnessing scenarios. What I'd say. What they'd say. What I'd say back. The only problem is that most of this imagined dialogue has stayed that way--no more real than the imitation grass that once surrounded my doll house.
Truth be known, thinking about sharing my faith and actually doing it are two different matters, a fact I've only recently begun to appreciate. For years, it seems I confused thought with action. An honest error perhaps, but more likely a mind game developed to ease my guilty conscience. After all, thinking about taking action is better than doing nothing at all, right?
Even so, it seems pretty clear to me that I need to stop imagining and start doing; that my faith needs to be about more than just believing the right things. "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead," wrote James. And I'm convinced it's not about thinking up good works so much as living a truly transformed life. A life where my entire being--mind, soul and body--has been touched by the lordship of Christ. Because until I express that kind of trust, I'll be forever trapped in a world of powder pink furniture and immature faith.
Colleen Pepper is a staff writer with Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada.
-from Canadian Challenge Magazine, Spring 1999 edition. Used with permission.
