This past Sunday I got to perform my first baptism. It was an experience that I am still savoring. I am so often caught up in all the busyness of life that I forget what it is really all about, namely, ushering people into God’s Kingdom. And this was it. This was the real deal. All of life’s other distractions were put on the shelf for a while as I focused on the eternally important.
Our church gathered along the shore of the Boise river where we conduct baptisms each year in August for those that want to experience it in an ice cold river. I waded out into the frigid water with the other members of our church staff and helped the pastors with a few baptisms. There was a lot of excitement as each person was lowered into the water and then raised up to the accolades of the family and friends.
And then there stood before me a young man who had just started coming to church at the invitation of a friend. He explained to us that he had accepted Jesus as his savior and wanted to be obedient to God’s command to be baptized. He wanted all that this newfound life in the Kingdom had to offer. We talked with him about the significance of baptism and then prayed over him. Though he was shaking with cold, a bit of nervousness, or both, he turned with gladness and assumed the position of one who is about to die. He held his nose with one hand and his elbow with the other as I spoke an invocation over him and we lower him down into the watery grave that symbolizes that we are dead and buried with Christ. And then we raised him up to walk in new life as his fiancée, friends, and family cheered for him.
What a privilege I thought, to be able to share such a profound event with someone. Lord, I pray that I will never take such things for granted. May I always feel awe at the profound mysteries of your Kingdom.
Our church gathered along the shore of the Boise river where we conduct baptisms each year in August for those that want to experience it in an ice cold river. I waded out into the frigid water with the other members of our church staff and helped the pastors with a few baptisms. There was a lot of excitement as each person was lowered into the water and then raised up to the accolades of the family and friends.
And then there stood before me a young man who had just started coming to church at the invitation of a friend. He explained to us that he had accepted Jesus as his savior and wanted to be obedient to God’s command to be baptized. He wanted all that this newfound life in the Kingdom had to offer. We talked with him about the significance of baptism and then prayed over him. Though he was shaking with cold, a bit of nervousness, or both, he turned with gladness and assumed the position of one who is about to die. He held his nose with one hand and his elbow with the other as I spoke an invocation over him and we lower him down into the watery grave that symbolizes that we are dead and buried with Christ. And then we raised him up to walk in new life as his fiancée, friends, and family cheered for him.
What a privilege I thought, to be able to share such a profound event with someone. Lord, I pray that I will never take such things for granted. May I always feel awe at the profound mysteries of your Kingdom.
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