My wife and I were out to dinner last evening with my Mom to celebrate her 74th birthday. If she read this blog it would be the 64th.
We had a very nice dinner and a nice time discussing all matter of topics, mostly family related. My Mom is not a religious person and hasn’t been in church, other than for weddings or funerals, for over 40 years. She and my Father (now with the Lord) were raised as Roman Catholics but really didn’t attend church regularly when they were young.
Anyway, we got onto the topic of baptism in discussing my cousin’s daughter, who just had a baby girl about a month ago. We were talking about where the baby might be baptised since the dad is a Lutheran and the mom is a Roman Catholic. We also mentioned another family member who is always proud to announce, when the subject comes up (every blue moon), that he has not been baptised and will not be, and that his kids weren’t going to be baptised if he had anything to do with it, either.
We discussed how an attitude like that is akin to spitting in God’s face and what a terrible thing that was for the children to be denied baptism.
So I figured I would take the opportunity to teach my Mom something about baptism and maybe get a good word or two in for Jesus.
I turned to my Mom and asked, “Do you know what baptism means, Mom?”
She said, without hesitation, “God makes you His child.” I wasn’t expecting that answer. I didn’t think that she had any idea what baptism was. I was quiet for a moment, stunned I guess, then I said, “that’s absolutely right, Mom…that’s exactly what it is.”
I always pray for my Mom and the other members of my family who do not as yet express too much interest in the things of God. But I have to say, I’m not as worried about my Mom as I used to be. I’m not worried at all. I believe that God adopted my Mom in her baptism, 74 years ago.
I will remind her, when I can, of the great things that God has done for her in her baptism… and she will remind me as well.
I know there are some that visit here, that do not view baptism in the same way that I do, or in the same way that the majority of the world’s Christians do…. and that’s ok. There was a time when I didn’t think a whole lot of it myself. But I have learned that God does the baptising in a baptism, and that Jesus commanded that we be baptised. I have since learned that God does not command us to do anything where He will not actually be present in it. Even though I have learned all this fairly recently, it is still good to be reminded of it as often as possible …even by those whom you would least expect.
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