You Try and Explain This

One of the most often talked about subjects with congregation members is Baptism. It's an intruinging topic, and it delights me to know that people are thinking about it. I think it's so intriguing because of the mystery behind it all. You can't REALLY explain baptism.

It's kind of like trying to explain "art" as a concept. You can't know what art is...you simply have to...know.

Baptism does have a United Methodist explanation, and that is (in my own words), "Baptism is a means of grace. It is the ritual performed to dignify God's grace working on and within an individual, as God's grace comes before any action or choice that we make. This is true for infants or for adults, and is an acceptance by the congregation that this person is a child of God."

Does that tell you what baptism is? For some, yes, for some, no. It describes it as a ritual experience, it tells of God's grace, but how do you describe an internal action or feeling? How do you describe God's grace at work on an infant who can't tell you about it like an adult can? It's simply baptism, acceptance into God's grace.

Some people...have a problem with this conception of baptism. To some, baptism is the moment in which you are saved, your sins are washed away, because baptism is the choice you make, allowing God's grace to come to you. It is no longer a recognition of God's action, it is an invoking of God's action.

In both cases, God's grace is available to all, but in one, God acts first and you dignify that and accept it, and in the other case, you act first and God then rewards you. Like I said...it's a tricky subject, but fun.

I think baptism gives us a good look at the way God works in our lives. We know it's happening to us or another person (perhaps our kids), but we can't totally put words to it. We can try, but we know there will always be more.

So the next time you see a baptism, embrace the mystery and celebrate that God is so awesome and works so many wonders...that we can't explain all of them as well as we'd like to.