Your baptism on Sunday is a big deal.
One of the ways you know that is that I took off a week away from my own responsibilities as pastor of my church to be with you on your special day. I wish I was able to come to all of your plays and programs and special things, but we live too far away to get to everything.
But your baptism is so important. Your Aunt Lisa and I didn't want to miss it.
You see, I have been writing a blog about how church people can find ways for the things that we learn and talk about in church to become a part of our lives. I call it "Beyond the Benediction." I know, it's a cool title. But it's something that we church people have a lot of trouble with.
Apparently, you went forward in church a few weeks ago and accepted Jesus Christ as your savior. That is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make in your life. One of the only decisions that will ever come close in importance will be choosing someone to marry.
But I want you to remember that accepting Jesus Christ as your savior is only part of the picture. Each day when you get out of bed and go about the tasks of your day, you have a new choice every day as to whether or not you will follow Jesus and let him be the lord of your life on that day. You go to a Baptist church and I am the pastor of a Methodist church. We have different understandings of baptism and some different understandings about salvation, but I know we would all agree that the world will be a better place and your relationship with God will mean more to you if you will decide each day to follow Jesus.
Baptism is one of those things that is done in just a moment. From now on, you can say you are a baptized person. You can never "undo" a baptism. But, whether or not you choose to live like a baptized person will be up to you every day. Some days, living like a follower of Jesus might not be so hard. Other days, it may go against everything you want to do. Some days and years it might just seem like following Jesus is easy. And then one day, you might find that following Jesus is the hardest choice in some situation. You might even come upon a circumstance where following Jesus makes decades of your life more difficult than you ever imagined. We are living in a world that is changing so fast. Even though our country here in the United States has been a "friendly" place for Christians in the past, it seems it is becoming less so. But if we take an honest look at history, genuinely following Jesus has not ever really made many folks popular with the world.
So, I count it a great privilege that I was there to witness your baptism. But, as a blogger who is writing words about benedictions, I couldn't help but notice how appropriate the prayer was that closed the worship service in which you were baptized. The gentleman prayed that you and the other three who were baptized would grow in your faith and follow Jesus throughout your life.
In short, he was praying that your baptism would last beyond the benediction. I pray the same thing for you. I look forward to all the ways I will get to watch you grow in stature and learning. But I am especially looking forward to all the ways you will grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. One day, I pray you will look back and realize that what was begun at your baptism will be finished in the remainder of your life. The Bible tells us that the one who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. I am excited about seeing that happen!
So, Kaylee, your Uncle Tony and Aunt Lisa are proud of you and the commitment you have made. You have our prayers and the love and support of a wonderful congregation there at First Baptist Church in Norman Park, Georgia (some of those people were my school teachers and friends growing up!). You have a wonderful mother and father and godly grandparents who are showing you what it looks like to serve God.
So each day, remember that you are a baptized child of God. Remember the blessings of salvation that have been opened up to your life. Live each day for Jesus.
You'll NEVER regret it.
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