Daily Reading 8

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' " -Matthew 3:16-17

The scene unfolds on this crazy looking man, John, who is wading in the water, telling everyone about the need for forgiveness. When we hear this guy in the bible, he is usually talking about another person who was coming. Another person who would show people how to live and love each other. Lots of people were waiting in line that day to be baptized. Waiting for their chance to say publicly that they are changing how they act. What is so surprising about this entire scene is that Jesus is in the line with everyone else. He is in line with the Gentiles - people who were not born into the Jewish faith, those who were seen as unworthy and pretty much scum to many Jews. John is perplexed when Jesus gets in the water. He tries to convince Jesus to switch roles with him and do the baptizing instead. But this act was making way for Jesus to show us yet again that he is willing to act for us.

I really think that it would be great if you could read the last two paragraphs of Mr. Lucado's thoughts about this story. He is pretty much affirming that none of us is perfect. We've made mistakes, tried to do what is right, and sometimes we fail. The attempts never come out to be perfect. But Jesus waiting in that line with us to be baptized is our clue that he takes care of all of that stuff. He can measure up where we can't. He is willing to pay the price for us that we could not pay ourselves. When we are baptized, we are connecting to the time that Jesus was baptized. We are saying that we accept the gift that he gives to us - the wiping out of our sin. t was accomplished for us, by God coming here as a human, to do it perfectly because we were not able.

I believe I need to say thank you for that, and remember my baptism. I actually grew up going to the Catholic church. I cannot remember having baptism explained to me when I was young. It may have been, but I don't remember it. Within the last couple of years, someone told me the reason that there are water bowls posted at entrances/exits in a Catholic church... Their purpose is to help you to remember your baptism. To remember that Jesus paid the price for you and to remind you of the decision you made to live your life in His direction. I have actually had two baptisms. When I was a teenager, I got interested in learning more about God. A friend of mine sparked the interest and I went to a youth event. After several months of questions and discussions, I realized that some people that I had met had something that I wanted. They loved unconditionally and supported each other through really tough stuff. I prayed in my room one night telling God that I wanted what they had. My friend's parents had given me a bible. I read in Romans 10:9-10 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." After some more discussion, I decided that I wanted to tell others about what I had learned, so I had a baptism. I don't necessarily think that I had to be baptised again. I believe that my parents wanted me to live with God's direction when I was baptised as a baby. This was another way to show how God had been working in my life.