This week, I’m proud to present a guest post sent in last week by my friend Steph, who is sharing her thoughts on baptism. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, question, or other inquiry, please drop me a line. Otherwise, you are welcome to leave your comments below.
Today (the first of December), I went for a walk after church and ended up sitting on a rock in the middle of a little river, reading my bible. In a fit of inspiration (or craziness — maybe a little bit of both), I set my bible to the side and began shouting my guilt, my shame, and my sin above the growl of the river.
Then I plunged my hands into the water.
Yes, I know it’s December. Yes, I got the ends of my sleeves wet. And in case you were curious, the water was indeed cold — it was freezing. I lost all the feeling in my hand.Yet at the same time, I have never felt more alive.
Looking at my hand beneath the water, watching the river roll and tumble across my skin, was quite a visual representation of the love that God has for us all:
The water didn’t recoil from the dirtiest parts of my hand (my hands got pretty dirty climbing down there).
The water didn’t stop flowing when I plunged my hand in or even when I shouted my transgressions to the empty sky.
I surrendered my entire hand to the freezing touch of the water.
If I had held the dirtiest parts of my hand out of the water, or pulled my hand out as soon as I felt the stinging chill, my hand would be in the same state it was when I put it in.
God does not recoil from the dirtiest parts of our hearts.
His love does not stop flowing when we give all of ourselves, or even when we confess every selfish, prideful, hurtful thing that we have harbored in our hearts.
We have to surrender our entire heart to His touch, and there will be times when it will hurt to let go of something. But His love will cover our sin and heal us.
In the long run, there will be comfort. Not only for ourselves, but for people we love and even for people we don’t know yet.
Anyway, my mind trailed along like it usually does and led my thoughts back to something that a sister set on my heart a while back: baptism. When she suggested it, overall I was indifferent. But I was also still holding a lot of myself and my heart back from God and from this sister. I pondered going on a trip to Israel with my church next summer, and for a little while I was thinking, “How cool would it be to be baptized in the Jordan, where Jesus was baptized?”I ended up not being able to go because of finances, and was devastated and angry. But I gave the idea of baptism a chance in my heart.
Then I pushed the idea to the side, focusing on other areas where my klutzy, stumbling faith needed work.
Recently, two of my friends from college were given the opportunity to get baptized on a random Sunday at church. They both got baptized that day, on a spur of the moment decision. I was so happy for them! They were both incredibly happy, and they looked like they felt so free! But their baptisms also got me thinking about my own potential baptism.
And then I pushed the thoughts aside again. I think I was still afraid.
To surrender.
To trust.
To commit.
(I rolled my sleeve back to take a picture… even though it was already wet)
Looking at my hand in the river today, I wondered… if just washing my hand in a river all by myself and shouting my sins to the skies was so relieving and wondrous, how much more of a relief would actual baptism be — one where other people witness commitment and surrender?
Not just for me — for you too.
Bible references:
Psalm 51
Acts 22:14-16
Steph is a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado, majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. She likes tea, running, staying up late, and every genre of music. She is amazed by the love that Jesus has for her, and hopes you can experience that same love, too.
