Baptism

On Sunday i went to FERN Christian Fellowship's annual baptism service. The baptisms take place in the river at the bottom of the valley........the freezing, stony bottomed, muddy watered river at the bottom of the valley. The sun was shining (which seems unlikely looking out the window at the rain today) and the river looked lovely. Green leafed branches dipping in the dappled water, a squirrel dashing along the bank (honestly there actually was.... i'm not just saying it for effect!). It actually looked quite inviting.

Then people started going in!! Apparently; judging by the screams, contorted faces and chattering teeth, it was FREEZING!!! Four people got baptized i.e. dunked completely under the water, and the photographs i took confirmed my original suspicions........ the water was definitely FREEZING!!

It's a funny thing getting baptized.......especially if your perspective is that of an unsuspecting dog walker who encountered an unusual bunch of people gathered by the river! I like to think of it as being a bit like a wedding........ apart from the obvious difference in outfit choice. When you decide you believe in God and your going to try and follow after his ways with your life, you usually say a prayer to this effect and remember that day as the day you became a Christian. This is kinda like getting engaged......you have decided you and God are going to spend the rest of your lives together...... you plan on involving God in your life till the day you die. This commitment is between you and God...... you tell people, but only you really know how serious you are.

Now you see where i'm going with the whole baptism/ wedding thing. Getting baptised is like the big day...... you invite all you friends and celebrate the commitment you've made to God. It's the big display, the sign to everyone else of the commitment you made in your heart!

Getting baptised is not magic. It's not a ticket to heaven or an initiation ceremony into a mystical society to which you are forever bound. It's a person, making a commitment, to follow God.