To answer this question, I will begin by explaining the two different definitions of the word ‘faith’.
1. DEFINITION
The first definition for ‘faith’ comes from the Bible. The word ‘faith’ as a noun is rarely used in the Old Testament but is implied with verbs such as ‘believe’, ‘trust’, or ‘hope’. The word ‘faith’ is used frequently in the New Testament where it is connected to a personal belief in Jesus Christ as the one who God sent to the world to be the Savior through his death on a cross and resurrection three days later. Acts 16: 31 states the answer a jailer was given by the Apostle Paul after he asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” Another way to say this would be to say, “Have ‘faith’ in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”
A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus after dark one night in order to get answers to some of his questions about who Jesus was. Jesus told Nicodemus that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” The conversation between these two men continued and is recorded in John 3. Verse 16 is Jesus’s statement about how to be ‘born again.’ This is what he tells Nicodemus. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Here again ‘believes’ is a synonym for ‘has faith.’
The Apostle Paul writes a letter to people in Rome. The Bible includes his letter in the New Testament. Paul tells the Romans in Romans 1 that through Jesus Christ he had “received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from ‘faith’”. In chapter 3, Paul tells the Romans about God’s righteousness. In verse 22 he says “This righteousness from God comes through ‘faith’ in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” In chapter 9, Paul tells the Romans that he is proclaiming the word of ‘faith’ which he explains in verse 9. “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul explains in Romans 10: 17, “…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
The Bible has many verses that include the word ‘faith’. The following verses make a very important and clear statement that provides more understanding about ‘faith’ as revealed in scripture. Ephesians 2: 8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through ‘faith’ - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
2. DEFINITION TWO
The second definition of ‘faith’ as stated in Webster’s Dictionary is “a religion or a system of religious beliefs: as the Catholic faith.” Under this definition, the ‘faith’ of my parents from my birth to about age 8 was the Nazarene ‘faith’. Another word which is a synonym of this use of the word ‘faith’ is denomination.
The photo below was taken of me and my four siblings on the day my brother and I joined the Winona, MN Nazarene church and received Bibles as a gift. Our parents had joined this church a few years earlier after our family moved from a farm near Viroqua, WI to a farm near Fountain City, WI which was seven miles from the bridge across the Mississippi River which took us into Winona, MN. We are lined up outside of the church. From left to right: Margelyn, Barbara, Kathleen, Linda and Jimmy.We remained members of this Nazarene church for a few more years but our family moved our membership and involvement to the Lakeside Evangelical Free Church in Winona, MN. a few years later.
The photo below is a photo of the Lakeside church which has been converted to a home after the church relocated to a space where greater growth could be possible. The house to the right of the church was the parsonage where the pastors and their families lived. The photo below is my family in December 1962 which would have been when I was a senior in high school. We are standing beside the Lakeside Ev. Free Church. My parents continued to be active members of this congregation until they moved away from the area in their retirement from farming. L to R: Edna, James, Kathy, Linda, Barbara, Jim with Margelyn in the front. This must have been taken when Jim was home for Christmas break during his 3rd year at UW-Madison. Though my parents moved away from this area, they remained faithful members of other churches that were part of the Evangelical Free Church denomination.
Now to respond to the title of this story.
How is my faith different from my parent’s faith?
The first definition of faith that I have shared in the previous paragraphs of this story, gives the Biblical definition of ‘faith.’
As a young child of age 6, I responded to a Pastor’s invitation to receive the free gift of Christ’s salvation by praying a prayer in which I told God that I believed in Him, I repented of my sin and wanted Him to come into my heart and be my Savior. I had gone to the front of our church, knelt down at the altar and immediately felt that someone else had just knelt beside me. When I opened my eyes to see who was there, I saw that it was my mother. She asked me if I was ready to ask Jesus to come into my heart. I told her, “Yes”. She listened as I prayed my prayer. I’m not sure of her exact words at that time but I’m quite certain that she assured me that God had indeed, come into my heart because of my belief, repentance and trust in Him.
Though that experience happened about 70 years ago, I have a very clear memory of it. I truly believe it was the moment in time when I personally received God’s free gift of salvation because of my faith in Jesus Christ whose death on the cross had paid the penalty for my sin making it possible for me to “not perish but have eternal life” as Jesus stated in John 3:16.
This decision has guided me throughout my whole life and has been the best and most significant decision I have ever made.
My parents met each other at a church service in a Methodist Church in Westby, WI in the summer of 1939. My father was there with his three siblings as the special music for the service. Each of the four Groves children of Bill and Amanda Groves played a musical instrument and sang as a quartet. As teenagers and into their early 20’s, they frequently provided the musical portion of special services in churches as well as at community wide programs in the area where they lived.
L - R, Hubert, Vernon, Mildred and James Groves.
My mother was at this service with another fellow named Maynard Wheeler. Somehow, Maynard and my father knew each other so after the service, my father came to speak to Maynard and was introduced to my mother. At that time my father was 25 years old and my mother had just turned 20. Mom would later that day tell her best girlfriend that she would love to get to know James Groves better. Her wish came true within the next few months as Maynard’s interest in my mother waned and he communicated to her that he was ready to break off their dating friendship. James and Edna became interested in each other as both of them frequently attended what was called “The Saturday Night Meetings.” These were home groups for single Christians who came together weekly to sing, have a Bible Study and get to know others who shared their values and interests.
I think this is an accurate memory that I have about my father’s faith journey. My Dad, James, and his family lived on several different farms in the Viroqua, WI area as the children were growing up. When the children were in their mid-teens, a tent revival came to their community led by a Pastor named Rev. Ferguson and the Groves family all decided to attend the services. It was at one of those services that all six members of my Dad’s family responded to the Pastor’s message and prayed to become Christians. For all six of these people, that decision was based on the Biblical truth they had heard from that Evangelist. Their decision was authentic and all six remained deeply committed to the Lord for the rest of their lives. I know this to be true for my father who was also a man of prayer. He knelt each night beside his bed before getting into bed and prayed there. I observed this whenever I would pass the open door of my parent's bedroom after evening milking chores were done and Dad was ready to get into bed. That memory is still clear and precious to me.
My mother’s parents came together from two different denominations. Her father was a Lutheran and her mother was Seventh Day Adventist. This couple decided that baby boys born into this family would be raised as Lutherans and baby girls would be raised as Seventh Day Adventists. A major difference happened at birth for the four sons and three daughters that were born to Ludvick and Tessie Matson. The boys were baptized in infancy but the girls were not. Seventh Day Adventists believed baptism should be an experience following a person’s decision to repent and become a follower of Jesus Christ. When my mother was five years old, her mother died and left seven young children without their mother. This meant that the three daughters did not have anyone to continue guiding their spiritual life. Since the boys had been baptized as infants, they felt they were all set for an afterlife in heaven but since their sisters had not been baptized, they were doomed to an afterlife in hell. The big brothers would at times torment their younger sisters with taunts about this matter. This caused much fear in my mother. She only knew one prayer which was this. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” This prayer did not bring comfort to my mother because she feared that she would die in her sleep and since she hadn’t been baptized, she would go to hell. Mom lived with this fear for many years. But a friend invited my mother to her church one day when my mother was probably about 18 years old. The church was an Evangelical Free Church and for the first time in my mother’s life she heard about Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation. My mother knew as soon as she heard about Jesus that she was hearing the truth which she had been wanting to hear since childhood. My mother committed her life to the Lord at that time and continued to believe with faith that she would go to heaven when she died. Salvation was a free gift based on believing by faith in Jesus and was not something earned through baptism or good works. My mother remained a faithful follower of the Lord through her entire lifetime as did my father.
My parents met in July of 1939 but did not start dating until early in 1940. My parents wrote letters to each other until their wedding day, June 7, 1941. Their letters were saved and kept in a small chest in the attic of our farm house. We five children knew about the small chest but our mother told us we were never to open the chest and see what was inside. I'm quite sure we knew it held our parent's "love letters." As far as I know, all five of us obeyed our mother concerning those letters or whatever was in the chest.
My parents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on June 7, 2006. On August 26, 2006, my father passed away at age 92. Mom was 87 years old. Both of them were mentally quite able to understand and engage in conversations but they were declining in health. Following my Dad's funeral, I stayed with my mother for three weeks. I helped go through my Dad's personal items and shared many memories and thoughts with my mother. We came across the "Love Letters." I wasn't sure what Mom would say about those letters but I asked if she would like to read them or have me read them to her. She responded that she would like me to read them to her. What a sacred moment for me to put the letters into chronological order and read these 67 year old letters to her. I was profoundly touched by what I read. Mom sat in Dad's recliner wrapped in a blanket he would have had around his shoulders or across his lap, closed her eyes and listened as I read. The letters all began and ended with a Bible verse written out with some mention of how meaningful it was or how it had encouraged the writer. The rest of the letter was some information about what had been happening for each of them with a little bit about how much they enjoyed getting to know each other. There is a gap in letters from December 12, 1940 - January 23, 1941. The letter from my mother on January 23, 1941 mentioned someone who had asked to see her "ring". That must have been her Christmas gift in December 1940.
Since this story is my way to process the faith of my parents and my faith in order to discern and relate whether or not there are differences between us, I am going to quote from the letters they wrote to each other before their marriage which reveals their spiritual plans for the family they would become when they married. Since my mother gave me permission to read the letters after my father's death, I am trusting that I have an extension of that privilege in order to pass on some excerpts of the faith of my parents as decided upon before their wedding day.
March 10, 1941 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths. (Prov. 3: 5-6) ...The fellowship that I enjoy with you is always so helpful and strengthening to me... I think it was almost a miracle how we were drawn together that night at Walter's. I'm sure it was an answer to prayer. I believe God will bless our home if we only keep time to him and put him first in our lives... Lovingly, Jimmy
March 24, 1941 "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God - ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 6: 19-20 Tonight I'm just awfully happy! Today God has given me grace to witness twice for Him... (Edna worked for a wealthy family and shared conversations she had with the father and later with the two sons who asked her about her "joy and peace" in what she believed.)... I'm so happy that you're such a good Christian. I do enjoy your fellowship so much. I'm sure we'd be richly blessed if we'd read our Bibles together and pray much these two months before we're married. Surely we need God's guidance & strength when we're about to take such an important step which will affect our whole lives. I'm confident we'll never regret having read his Holy & Blessed word & having prayed together. I, too, believe that God brought us together in answer to prayer. We have much to thank him for, don't we? Always remember that I love you with all my heart & that I'm looking forward to the day when we can "together" establish a home with "Christ" as the head. Lovingly, Edna
My parents followed through with their commitments to each other and to the Lord. I am very grateful for their spiritual guidance in our home as I grew up.
I am also very grateful that I met a tall, dark and handsome godly guy as I started college who became my husband. We also sought to establish a home in which our children would learn about Jesus Christ and would trust, believe in and commit their lives to Him. That has happened for which we are truly grateful.
Following are scripture verses which have guided my decisions as a wife, mother and story writer. Deuteronomy 6: 5-7 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Psalm 71: 17-18 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
Psalm 78: 4b; 5b-7 …we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done…he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
With the words of this story, I have shared the common path of faith that my parents established and passed on to me and that my husband and I have established and passed on to our children.
Our prayer is that from our roots will come faithful followers of the Lord for all the generations that God allows to flow from our family.
The denominations that my husband and I have chosen have sometimes been the same as my parents and sometimes different. We have not always lived where there was an Evangelical Free Church so we have chosen to become Baptists. We choose the denomination based on the faith doctrine that the church believes and teaches.
For now this is my answer to the prompt I had for this story.
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