Descriptions

My name is Rachel Summar. I am married to Bart. We have three daughters, Grace (13), Emily (11) and Caroline (7). We have been members at Living Hope for almost two years. I teach a Sunday school class of 7th grade girls, and Bart teaches a class of 8th grade boys. I am a full-time wife and mom and work part-time as a photographer.

As Jason preached this morning from Acts 2:37-42 there were a few things that he mentioned that just never seem to grow old for me. One of those things is the fact that I am “forgiven.” He reminded us that for those who are believers in Christ all of our sins are forgiven (past, present and future). In our 7th grade girls Sunday school class, we are currently studying the book of 1 John. We talked a few weeks ago about the phrase “little children” and the fact that “little children” know they are forgiven and the fact that they know they have a Father. Although they don’t know a whole lot more than that, they have everything they need. I told my group of young believers that I am side-by-side with them as a “little child” always needing to understand and experience the reality of what it means to be forgiven.

I appreciated what Logan West shared in his testimony as a middle school student growing in his walk with the Lord. He talked about how after a year or so of growing he looked back and it didn’t really seem like he had grown all that much. That tied in so perfectly with what Jason said this morning, “The closer you get to God, the further you feel from Him.” I think Logan was experiencing what many of us feel when God allows us to see more of who He is. He’s so much more than we ever could imagine!

A while back, in an effort to try to keep up with the rest of the world (including my teenage daughter), I joined Facebook. I always struggle with filling out personal information that describes “who I am,” particularly as it pertains to the category of “Religion.” I find it challenging to put into a word or two what Christ has done for me. The best one word description that I have come up with thus far is “Rescued.” That’s the most accurate way I know to describe God’s work in my life. I was so glad to hear what Jason had to say about the holiness of God and the great distance that exists between me and God outside of the blood of Christ. It was a good reminder of who God is (the great holy and sovereign ruler of this universe) and who I am (a person greatly in need of His grace and mercy every day).