February 24

Baptized into Christ

            Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Romans 6:3-5

            My son’s baptism was an event.  He was 1 and the wiggliest guy you had ever seen.  Normally our church would call up everyone who was getting baptized, have them stand in a line together at the front of the church and then quietly wait as the pastor worked his way down the line, reading sacred verses specifically chosen for that individual and sharing encouragement for this monumental step that the believer was undertaking.  Then there would be a few handfuls of water poured on someone’s head and the pastor would move to the next person.  Baptisms are joyful and holy moments that we get the honor of participating in as a church body.

            My wife and I tried standing up front with the boy, each of us holding one hand…but that was not the kind of day that we were going to have.  When you are so close to all the shiny instruments, how could you be expected to stand still and not strain to go and touch them?  Finally the pulling and the groaning were just too much so I picked up my son and held him tight, that sometimes worked to calm him.  He just kept climbing and I just kept redirecting.  So he was on my chest, then sitting on my shoulders, then lying across my shoulders, then trying to climb down my back, then back to my chest, finally pausing when I was holding him upside down with his feet on my shoulders.

            During this entire exercise, the pastor is blessing and baptizing the members of another family, doing his best to avoid the circus going on and the snickers coming from the congregation.  The pastor eventually got to us and shook his head, laughing that this one would need the entire church to raise.  There was no screaming when the water ran down his head, my son just looked confused.  Then we were back in our seats and the service continued.

            There is a promise and an assurance that comes with baptism.  The assurance is that God initiated with us before we were ever able to initiate with him.  He has been searching for us and creating a way back to Home long before we began our spiritual journey to Him.  The promise is that Jesus has blazed the trail for us.  On the other side of death is Life Everlasting and Joy Eternal.  Baptism acknowledges that our role in reuniting with God is following the path that has been laid out for us.  It is a time of joy and a time of gratitude and a time of marveling at God’s love for us. 

            Baptism, and by extension most elements of corporate worship, does not need to be orderly to be holy.  A holy moment is a moment in which God is present and working.  Those moments do not need to follow the order of worship for God to honor them.  They can be loud and chaotic and filled with laughter.  Baptisms are usually solemn and quiet.  My son’s was not.  And I think that God delighted in it just as deeply. 

            We as parents should never have to hide our kids from our church.  They will disrupt the efficiency of the service.  They will not observe all the unwritten rules and there will be times that they are loud when they are supposed to be quiet.  And God will delight in them all the same.   And if God delights in someone, then the rest of the church should delight in them as well.  It is often tempting to just stay home from services because we would be too disruptive.  Don’t allow the chance for embarrassment to keep your child from being able to worship their Creator in the context of community.

           

A moment to reflect:

What’s the most disruptive your child has ever been in church?  Those times are not dealbreakers with God and they should not be dealbreakers with your church.  You and your child still have a vital role to play within the body of Christ.