Baptism || When Jesus Calls Me to Die

I was baptized when I was eight years old, and I remember three things:

// my daddy baptized me in sweetly warm water

// a beautiful worship song played

// and I simply did it because I loved Jesus, and He told us to obey

Little Hosanna had so much she didn't understand. She didn't know what baptism represented or the beauty of it, but she knew the God she loved said go, so she did.

I wouldn't change that. But this week as a friend shared about their upcoming baptism, I realized how little I knew. So I dove into a word study and found a core truth that's so hard and beautiful with which I can do nothing more than lift to Jesus and whisper, "help me."

I learned,

 

I'm in love with Jesus more than anything in this world, and it's the most wonderful thing I've discovered in life. And yet as I follow Him, He whispers this:

come and die.

I want to balk and run from it, grab my dreams and hopes and say, "didn't You give these to me? Why do I have to surrender them again and again?"

come and die.

Baptism is joining Jesus in that death.

I read of the Israelites, riding victoriously from Egypt after they escaped their captors, but then they came to the water. There was a turning point.

They were God's people! They were chosen, and God Himself led them by a fire by night and a cloud by day!

But until they walked through that water, they weren't free. The Egyptians were coming, and unless their God intervened, they'd forever be slaves.

So He did. God let them pass through the waters on dry ground as a symbol of baptism, and on the other side, they found freedom and life and joy and a future hope. Their promised land awaited!

Jesus asks me: am I willing?

Am I willing to pass through the waters and let myself die to find freedom when I rise? Am I willing to let go of my dreams and hopes to embrace His?

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Now are your ways My ways," says the LORD.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts."

- Isaiah 55:8-9

The Bible continues describing the beauty of baptism throughout its pages, and I could list references to keep you busy for hours. *wink* But what I read is that baptism comes from a heart of repentance. It's an important part of entering the family of God. And the Holy Spirit is a special part of it all (which is awesome, 'cuz it means God literally gets to live in us as a Helper!).

As Jesus died, when we're baptized under the water, we join in His death, and as He rose, we rise out of the water into a new life with Him. What's amazing is that when He returns to bring His Kingdom, we'll rise again with new physical bodies and inherit the Kingdom with Him!

But today, I'm left with a decision: is Jesus worth it?

Is He worth giving everything for?

And yet being a follower of Jesus isn't a slavery where He steals what we love to grasp all the glory for Himself. He's a transcendent God who treasures His people and, knowing what's best for them, leads them in the way they should go. We give Him glory because that, in turn, fills us with the deepest satisfaction and joy we could ever experience!

I've had no joy greater than the joy of knowing Him.

He is a God of peace and love and all that's good, and He desires us to know Him intimately, to converse with Him, to live life with Him.

But it starts with a decision.

Will I come and die so that something greater might live?

...unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

- John 12:24-26

The One we follow gave His very life, suffering a terrible and ghastly death, and,

...a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.

- John 13:16

 

And so I surrender to Jesus.

I accept that whatever He says goes. That His plan is always best. That He may give and take away as He sees fit, and I will stand before Him and worship.

It's not always easy to walk through the waters, but it is the most beautiful and fulfilling calling. So I'll wipe away tears and skip through dry ground.

I challenge you to sit with the Lord and open your heart to the One who calls you "beloved." Surrender to Him, cry to Him, love Him, and be loved by Him.

It's so sweet to be loved by Jesus.

What is your baptism story? Are there waters you're walking through? Let's share below!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

- Isaiah 43:2

 

 

 

 

~♥~