Smiles From Heaven

That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind, when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! Romans 6:3 (The Message)

Today I went to the reservoir with the church that my parents go to. It was very hot, but nevertheless, a good time. The pastor of the church had the privilege of baptizing two adults from the church. It just hit home for me again, how special being baptized really is.

I was baptized when I was a little bit younger, along with my brother. We were baptized by the pastor of our church in the pool of the camp ground that our family, along with our church, went to every Labor Day weekend to camp. It was a special baptism, but at that age I know now that I did not know what it meant to be baptized. It was not until the beginning of my freshmen year in college that i really learned the meaning of baptism.

Seeing the people being baptized in the reservoir was such a great experience. It is so great that they want to walk with Jesus for the rest of their life, and make that dedication. And for all their friends and family to be there and witness and see them being brought out of the water into their "new life" was such a special experience.

I found this passage from the bible (beginning of blog) at the beginning of the year. It was from the version called The Message, and it made me think about baptism in a whole new way. Being baptized really does mean being brought into a new life, where you will walk with Jesus Christ the rest of that life. Leaving all the sin of your old life behind, and not having to worry about any of it, because you are filled with the love of Jesus.

God does wonderful things everyday, and I am thankful that I got to witness some of those experiences today at the reservoir.