The Creed and Me
Margaret Broersma
It was a Sunday in March 1987. I had joined Hillside a month or so earlier with a testimony that Pastor George had me give to the congregation. In a couple of weeks, I was going to marry Roger Broersma and make our two grieving families into one. His wife, Karen, had died of cancer, and my husband, Bruce, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while biking to work. We would make a family of seven. I wasn’t Dutch, and I had never been Christian Reformed, but thanks to the teaching I received at my Baptist church in Florida, I understood that the original Baptists were strong Calvinists, and I had learned all the points of TULIP. But Baptists are not liturgical by any stretch of the imagination! I hear things like, “Our only creed is the Bible,” etc. And the Bible, we did learn!
On this Sunday, so close to our wedding, it was the Lord’s Supper. After taking the bread and “wine,” we stood, and the congregation recited the Apostles Creed. Thankfully, it was also projected on the screen. I began to say it along with everyone else. And the tears began to flow like a river down my face. This was it! This was everything! These were all the tenets of my faith, summarized here in this one place, spoken with these people. The people of Hillside, who had so graciously accepted me, also believed all the same essential things that I believed. This was the story of the Bible - summarized.
It was probably a year before I could say it all from memory and say it all without weeping. As an educator, the value of being able to memorize something that “said it all” seemed immeasurable. From the first day until now, the Apostles Creed is a treasure to me. When we say it after the Lord’s Supper, we unite our voices in saying the truths we believe from the early church until now. When young people make the Profession of Faith, and together we proclaim this creed with them, we rejoice that they now believe with us. To hear the voices of new members, young believers, my neighbors, my friends, and even those with whom I may disagree on some issue or another - to hear us voice our beliefs together strengthens and validates our faith.
When I visit a church of one of my grown children, (not necessarily the same denomination), and we stand and say the same creed together, not just with my kids but with my grandkids, wow! What a wonderful gift to know that we believe as a family; they believe in their individual churches, and we share in their fellowship when we say it together.
Along the way, I have learned that around 700 AD, this creedal document was finalized and written as a “rule of faith” - a simple statement that summarized the faith of the Apostles. To an early church that was mostly illiterate, it was a way to state their beliefs every week together and to make sure that the people knew what they believed. In this way, they could be unified in their faith, edified in their spirit, and strengthened against false teachers.
So just imagine, when we stand and say the Apostles Creed together, we are joining our voices with generation upon generation of believers - and will all the people of the Lord everywhere. Yes, this creed may be one of the greatest things I’ve ever memorized other than the Word of God. And I am forever thankful that I learned it at Hillside.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of. - 2 Timothy 3:14