I have a friend who is being baptized this week. Her step of faith has reminded me of my own baptism and what it means to be immersed in the baptismal waters. I was baptized at the age of 21. It feels like a long time ago, but I remember it well. It was a large church to say the least and there were many of us being baptized that day. When it was my turn I remember feeling nervous butterflies in my stomach and joy and excitement in my heart. Stepping down into the warm pool at the front of the church,  I didn’t even think about the hundreds of people watching. II was so focused on the moment. Coming up out of the water, I felt clean and new.

I had grown up believing in God and knowing that Jesus had died for my sins. As a child I remember a closeness with God, but it faded over time as I moved further from Him. Even as a teen, I  would have told you that I was a Christian, but I didn’t live my daily life as a Christian. God wasn’t really part of my daily life at all. I incorporated him in holidays and held strong “religious” beliefs about Him, but there was no relationship. I was always so unhappy inside and I didn’t like myself at all. I remember never being able to pinpoint what it was that was making me so discontented, but I now know it was the absence of God in my daily life.

My mom was a Christian, and that year she had invited me and my now husband to go to a very large crusade that was being put on by a famous Evangelist.  I went willingly, but did not expect for the Lord to move on my heart like he did. At the end of the night, the Evangelist had an altar call. I felt the call of the Lord on my heart and willing walked down to the front of the arena and dedicated my life to the Lord with all my heart. The unhappiness in me started to change as I began to live my daily life for God and build a personal relationship with him. Later that year, I was baptized.

There are some denominations that baptize children when they are babies by sprinkling water on them and I would never claim to have an opinion on that being right or wrong. But I can tell you there is something beautiful and special about a person making the personal decision to accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior and then choosing to make a public declaration of that by being immersed in water. Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river (Matthew 3: 13-16). The baptismal waters are a symbol of death and resurrection. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4 (NIV):

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”

The Bible tells us that  we are “buried with Him through baptism” (Romans 6:4). The Message Bible says it like this:

“When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!

 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. ”  Romans 6:2-5 (MSG)

Let us never forget the reasons for baptism and the beautiful symbolism of it. Take a minute and remember your own baptism.  As we just read in Romans 6, baptism symbolizes our salvation in Christ when we bury our old lives of sin and death and our spirits are born again as new creatures in Christ.

Maybe you were baptized a long time ago, or maybe you were a child and you have no memory of it. There is a way you can re-experience it. Several years ago at a church I was attending, our pastor was teaching on the meaning of baptism. For many of us there, baptism had happened a long time ago and the memory of it had faded. The pastor had a large bowl of water and directed us to come up and remind ourselves of our baptism. One by one each person came up front. We dipped our hands in the cool water as a way to re-experience the feeling of baptism. As we did the pastor reminded us of what it meant to have been washed in the waters of baptism; reminding us that we had died to sin and have been made a new creature in Christ by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. The pastor reminded us that we had been made clean, holy, and righteous before God. It was a truly beautiful experience.

If you are struggling with remembering your baptism I encourage you to do this. You can do this in a church group, with your family, or by yourself. Get a bowl of water and immerse your hands in it. Wash your hands and splash the water up your arms. As you do so remind yourself of what the Lord has done for you. Remember your old life before Christ, remember what you have been set free from. Remember what the Bible says about who you are as a new creature in Christ! You have been set free from sin and have been made clean, holy, and righteous before God! Thank you Jesus!

Take a step toward God today:

If you have never been baptized, talk to your church leaders about when you can take this step with God.

If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, click here for a prayer you can pray now.

 

Want more info about your identity in Christ? Click here for scriptures and confessions of who you are in Christ

Article suggestion: Jesus: All to Him I Owe

 

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