Baptism

This week our church is having our first ever Baptism Sunday. That's not to say we don't baptize people often, just that we haven't dedicated a specific day for the purposes of Baptism before this in our church's history--and for good reason. The church I'm apart of doesn't believe you wait until a specific day to get baptized because that means you'd be following some religious tradition rather than choosing to make a commitment to follow Jesus whenever He calls you. The church I'm a part of says "there is no creed but Jesus." We're not trying to get you to follow a list of rules. We're not trying to clean you up and get you more religious. We're definitely not trying to get you to practice empty rituals and long-winded liturgies. We're just trying to point you to Jesus.
It's simple. Jesus died for all of us, for the forgiveness of our sins.

We don't need to look very hard to discover we're covered in mud. If we can't see it on ourselves, we can turn on the tv or consider a broken friendship or relationship we're still wrestling with. Someone's sin is at the heart of every argument, wound, broken relationship, politic, newsreel, and heartbreak. And though we'd like to believe we're not that bad... the standard we hold others too is hypocritical because we can't even keep ourselves from messing up. None of us is perfect.

But there was One who lived a sinless life. We still hear about Him as a good man. His words are never very far from the highest example of integrity and wisdom... "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The golden rule is the standard of perfection because it embodies the life of Jesus. "Christian" used to mean a person who modeled their life after Jesus--a "little Jesus". But let's face it, people don't think very highly of Christians anymore. We've all seen too many "Christians" contradict Jesus... we're seeing it all over the place right now in the Presidential campaigns, right?

So at our church, we don't hold people to an impossible standard, we invite them to a Perfect person--Jesus who is fully man, and fully God. How do we know? Because Jesus didn't just live a sinless life and forgive our sins by His death and burial... He rose from the grave and ascended into heaven. Hundreds saw His scarred hands and feet, and told the world--even when they were murdered because they would not deny what they had seen. And now everyday people tell how Jesus encounters them, through the conviction of our sins, the mystery of the Jesus's living Spirit, and the Scriptures that come alive in us as we walk in His Spirit.

Baptism is a picture of this spiritual life. Jesus believers are baptized for "the repentance of our sins". Our submersion is a symbol of our death to sin. We are no longer slaves to our whims, our angers, our temptations, our selfishness--our sin. Our emergence from the water is a portrait of rising from this death... our new life has begun. We're choosing to follow Jesus now, allowing Him to teach us what it means to live gracefully, love fully, forgive intentionally and ask for forgiveness constantly. We will never be God, but He promises to live in us so that the world can see the difference He makes in us. Rather than saying "{your name here] is so perfect!" people will say "{your name here] is so different!" And the difference is the invisible feeling we have around this person... they're more loving, joyful, patient, peaceful, kind, faithful, self-controlled, gentle and good.

This doesn't happen because there is anything special about the water. It's just faucet water, and it won't change anything about us. It's meeting God that has changed us, seeing that He has pursued us by sending His Son Jesus to show us what love looks like.

I remember my baptism at 21. Though I'd been baptized as a kid, I knew it hadn't been my decision, and my early adult years had been filled with hypocrisy. I was that "Christian" who looked nothing like Jesus. I had some religious ideas, some bible talk and some family tradition... but I hadn't met Jesus myself. And then, while at college partying myself into trouble He broke through my fog. My conscience was quickened, my heart was stirred and my sixth sense was aware there was a lot more going on around me than I could see with just my eyes. There were times I should have died, but somehow I was rescued inconceivably. There were coincidences I couldn't write-off, and miracles that filled my mind with wonder. And one day it was all too much and tears streamed down my cheeks because I felt there was a God and whoever He was, He seemed to be trying to get my attention. So I set out to learn who He was, reading the Bible and the Hebrew Scriptures from cover-to-cover, reading all the books that challenged His existence, and asking questions of anyone who claimed to have met Him. From 18 to 21 I uncovered every rock, and finally concluded there was more to this life than me. All the religions I studied were too... religious. But, when I read about Jesus, He was different. He wasn't trying to establish a cult. He wasn't out to grow a following. He said He knew the truth about the way the world was put together... that He had been there with God when it was created. The Hebrews scriptures taught me that God knew the number of hairs on my head, and loved me so much He would send a Messiah to save me... to save everyone. And only Jesus proved that He was the One. He was the only one to return hatred with kindness, to trade His life for mine, and to overcome death with His resurrection. I knew Jesus was unlike any other god. And when I sensed Him confirming my search... I asked, "what do you want me to do now?" And His answer was simple.

Follow Me.

So I did. And one of the first things He said to do in the Scriptures was to be baptized. It's a day I'll never forget, filled with tears and relief. The symbol still makes me smile now from ear to ear. Covered in His love, drenched in His forgiveness, and marked with His Spirit. I'm different now and everyday with Jesus is filled with incredible gratitude for what He has done and does miraculously through daily life.

Baptism didn't save me... Jesus did and does. Whatever He says to do, I'm in because I've watched His words bring other people so much joy, life and even salvation. I know one thing is true for all of us, Jesus's Spirit tugs at our hearts to know Him. That's one of the reasons I like sharing my story because maybe God can use it as His voice in your life today. If you hear Him today, don't be afraid... you're not crazy. God is real and He is very good, you just need to trust your sixth sense and do whatever He tells you. Who knows, maybe one day you'll follow Jesus into the water of Baptism too? One thing is for sure, God loves us dearly and He wants us to know Him definitively.