Remember Your Baptism

Carolyn and I attend New Song UMC who is pastored by our son, Chad.  New Song has a wonderful tradition of having a Methodism 101 Class once a month.  I helped teach this class last week and we had a delightful young family attend with a precious 18-month-old little girl.  I asked if they had been baptized and both parents were baptized in the Catholic Church.  They asked about infant baptism and I shared that parents are asked to take the vows for infants and to raise the child in a Christian home.  When the child is 12 years old or so they will be given the opportunity to take the vows for themselves.  They asked how we baptize and I shared that we baptize by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.  We believe it’s not the quantity of water but rather through water that we are cleansed and become “clothed” with Jesus (Galatians 3:27). We celebrate through baptism that we belong to Jesus and Jesus lives in and through us.

Galatians 3:26 says we are the children of God and that we’ve been clothed with Christ and our identity is found in Jesus. We’ve been made right with God by faith (vs. 23-25). We’re set free and brought into unity through Christ and we are now His own. (vs. 29)

We can only be baptized once but we can “renew” our vows and be reminded  of the vows baptism represents.  When we remember our baptism, we are not just remembering the act of baptism or the day it occurred.  We are focusing that we belong to Jesus and have become children of God.  Who we are and who we will be is a product of our faith in Jesus.  We all want to be Children of God.

Prayer – God, help me to never forget that through Jesus I am a child of God.  Amen.

Galatians 3:27 – All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Author: Tommy Herndon