Water

“Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.” Psalm 36:6

Water is life.  We need water.  To drink.  Rain.  To wash.  To swim.  To play.  

One of the sacraments in the church is baptism, using water.  

The first time this baptism is brought up in the Gospels, John the Baptist (baptizer) is preaching saying, “Change your life!  The Kingdom is here!” When he baptized people, he told them, “I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life.”  He told them it wasn’t about their skin, but about a real change in their lives.

And then, in Matthew 3, a crazy thing happens. 

¹³ Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.^[f]” So John agreed to baptize him.

¹⁶ After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened^[g] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

Baptism is not about some cleansing experience.  It is when the old self dies, and a new self is raised to life.

In Christ, we are given a new life.  But, I don’t think this is always some instant, overnight process.  For some, yes it is, and with them, we rejoice!  For others, it is a long, difficult, and strenuous process, and with those people, we walk along side them with encouragement and love.