Baptism of Bethany
I was privileged to baptise my daughter in February this year and it was such an honour!
Baptism is a meaningful event that occurs in a variety of ways. Some may have experienced the Christian tradition of being ‘sprinkled’ as a baby in a church, with the intent of the baby’s family and friends to devote their children to the Lord. Others celebrate ‘believers baptism’, where people voluntary decide to identify as a Christian and follow Jesus by faith, by being submerged either at the beach, in someone’s pool, or in a church service.
Both methods hold significance because of what happened to Jesus at Easter when He deliberately surrendered to death, nailed to a wooden cross, for a specific reason – to be the atoning sacrifice for all sin. This is something only God could achieve. He then rose again three days later revealing that He has ultimate power over both sin AND death. Christians receive Jesus’ death and resurrection by faith and publicly declare that by baptism.
In the New Testament, the act of baptism was a common cultural occurrence that demonstrated someone surrendering their lives to Jesus (going under the water represents Jesus dying for our sins) and living washed as a new person (coming out of the water identifying with the resurrected new life).
There is such meaning in baptism because of what Jesus has accomplished for us at Easter. New life! Forgiveness and amazing grace! Jesus has been changing lives for the over 2,000 years, my family included.
