I Believer: At the Core

LIN FALLON

I believe..., what a challenge, especially since I am not a wordsmith. I do a lot of observing and thinking but to put what I believe in my own words is difficult for me.

This is what I believe...

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

I was brought up in a Christian home and heard and responded to the call of Christ at an early age. I had many good role models of grandparents being active members at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, and parents who were very active at Winnetka Bible Church as well as my dad regularly volunteering at Pacific Gospel Mission on the near west side of Chicago. And me? I cycled in and out of wanting to grow in Christ and wanting to be part of the world I was living in. Change was great during those days of the 60s and 70s; filled with civil unrest, music, hormones, drugs, political lies, war, the draft—the who am I questions. The list could go on. The cycles went on and on, and each time it seemed like I was pulled down further. Scripture warns us about how Satan works in I Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him...”

Christ, however, never let go of me and for that, I am so thankful. Paul Tripp comments that “God will remain faithful even when you’re not. Because his faithfulness rests on who he is, not on what you’re doing.” Another Paul wrote to Timothy, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13).

There were a few times that I began to understand for myself what it means to live a life devoted to Christ. During a break from college, I met a few students at Trinity (Deerfield, IL) that were speaking to the issue of faith and what we stand for. They had just started publishing a magazine called Post-American and were having church at their rented house. Blessed are those that seek the kingdom of God, and I was seeking, so I got involved. I was seeing Christianity from a new lens of living communally, speaking and writing how the gospel shapes our lives and worshiping in new ways. I helped with the layout of the quarterly magazine.

It was also a time of growing and learning about other Christian faith traditions as we lived in community. I was particularly interested in the Mennonite tradition because that was my maternal grandparents’ background. My thinking was also challenged by Elizabeth O’Connor’s book Eighth Day of Creation: Gifts and Creativity and other people—all from the Church of the Savior in Washington DC—spurred me on to understand that God has called us and gifted us to partake in the world. Quoting from her book, “As the artist discovers that there is a direct relationship between the inner and outer forms of material, so we discover that creativity in our inner lives has a direct relationship to creativity in the world. We can never be in the world only as its benefactors. This does not make for authentic relationship…. I will be an instrument of God in the continuing act of creation. “

When the magazine decided to go bimonthly in 1973, I knew it was time to finish my undergrad degree. In 1975 the magazine went monthly, changed its name to Sojourners and the leadership decided to move from Chicago to Washington DC that same year.

I made my own move away, and in time, my downward cycle of a messed up (Christian) life took hold of me. Yet Christ did not leave me. I left him. I learned his arms are always open for me to come to him, and I learned King David’s prayer of confession. “For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” (Psalm 51:3-4, KJV)

God led me to a group of believers, and I began worshiping with them. On retreat, I was impressed with the idea of the garden and its analogy of the Christian life. Just as the garden needs the sun, the rain, and the earth to be nourished and weeded, as a Christian I need the Son of God to guide me, the weeds to be pulled through Bible study and community and the rain of the Holy Spirit to wash over me. I was wanting to leave my messed-up life behind and wanted to be baptized. Again, from Psalm 51, verses 7, 10 and 12: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

During this time Pat came into my life. God is the giver of good gifts and that is what God has given me. A wonderful loving God-fearing husband.

I continue to grow in my faith and understanding of the gospel. The cycles are not as drastic as they were in my teens and in my 20’s. But I know that the deceiver is always at the door, now in smaller ways, less observable ways. Do I give enough grace to those around me? How do I use my time and talents? Am I building up those around me, giving encouragement or standing up for what Christ stands for in this world? These are questions that I need to ask daily. I am always thankful that God is for me and wants me as his own.

I’ve been particularly influenced with the work of Francis and Edith Schaeffer and their ministry of L”Abri as his influence on the spectrum and the value of life. R.C. Sproul’s work on the holiness of God has been influential and was Richard Foster’s writing on the spiritual disciplines of the faith. Biographical books have also influenced me in my spiritual formation. One such book is the life and work of Lillias Trotter.

Her life as an artist, a creator, and how she followed Christ’s call to Northern Africa, yet she brought her art and writing into that life of sharing the gospel continue to make an impact on me.

Currently, the work of Makoto Fujimura and Ruth Chou Simons are capturing my attention as I think about my own life and the influence the Holy Spirit has in developing the gifts God has given me.

So, what do I believe?

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. I believe in one holy Christian church. I affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.

This is the core of what I believe.

I’m thankful that these creeds were written. I am thankful for music written by Fannie Crosby and contemporary singer-songwriters Steve Bell, Bob Bennet, Carolyn Arends and Mike Janzen. For poets like Malcolm Guite and Lucy Shaw. I am thankful that I can read all the genres of Scripture. Thankful for writers like Paul Tripp, Francis Schaeffer, R.C. Sproul, Charles Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald. I am thankful they put so many words together that speak to my heart.

A heart that has been softened by the Holy Spirit and one that is loved by my eternal Father.

A heart that sings: What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT LIN FALLON

“I will be an instrument of God in the continuing act of creation.” These words, written by Elizabeth O’Connor, reflect Lin’s heart as an artist. Along with serving in the STARS ministry at College Church, Lin is a resident artist at Clay Space Pottery in Lisle. She draws inspiration for her pottery from the Master Potter. Here are a few of her pieces.