“Great Grandpa and Great Grandma are working on the Apostles’ Creed,” my three-year-old son said this morning. We have been working on memorizing the Apostles’ Creed with our five-year-old and three-year-old and of course his comment meant he thought his great grandparents must be “working” on memorizing it too. Now, his great grandparents are 90+ and were cradle Christians, surely, they have known the Apostles’ Creed for quite a long time. But as is the case with most toddler-isms, that’s not what he said and what he said got me thinking—can one in the faith “work” on their beliefs? I’m not suggesting that God changes or the truths we profess in the Creed change. I’m not suggesting that we change our beliefs and move away from the Biblical truths of the Creed. Rather, his comment got me thinking about how we need never give up the good work of learning the faith that we believe and profess.  

Now, that is a work only of the Holy Spirit in each one of us. His job is to create and sustain our faith. But it is a work which we must participate in by receiving it, recognizing it, and claiming it as our own. “That’s mine. That’s for me. I want that.” And that, in part, is what the Apostles’ Creed is for—to claim and profess with clarity exactly what belief the Holy Spirit has put inside of us.

Our sinful nature has broken and marred our faith just as it does everything it touches. And as we ask God into those broken and tarnished places, He is working on our faith while we spend time in Him—whether it be professing the Apostles’ Creed, in the worship service, studying God’s Word, in prayer or talking about our faith with others, God is at work in our faith. He is now and ever will be “working on it.” Let’s rejoice in that.

Need resources to "work" on the Apostles' Creed with your family? Check these out: 

• "Sing & Wonder: Songs and Activities Based on the Apostles' Creed"
• "The Apostles' Creed Follow & Do" 
• "Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation"
• "My First Catechism" 
• "Luther's Small Catechism for Kids"