![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Romans_6_3-4.jpg)
| “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” |
| —Romans 6:3-4 |
The sacrament of baptism holds great significance for the follower of Jesus. In the Reformed tradition, we baptize the children of believing parents in the expectation that God’s covenant reaches down through the lines of families. Unlike some Christian traditions, whether baptizing children or adults, we require the baptism to take place as a part of the worship service. We do this because, in addition to promises the parents make regarding the raising of their child, the members of the church in the congregation also promise to do their part to nurture the spiritual formation of this young child.
Of course, other traditions require the person being baptized to have made a conscious and willful profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. I understand their reasoning for doing this and, in fact, worshipped for many years in just such a tradition.
No matter what specific tradition your church may follow, baptism mirrors the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is both a sacramental act and an act with deep symbolism. As the one being baptized rises from the baptismal waters, he or she experiences in sacrament and symbol the newness of life that the Apostle Paul was writing about in Romans 6:3-4:
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
As we begin a new day, let’s remember that we who belong to God through His Son have experienced the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus through the sacrament of baptism. We now live in a new life. We need to let go of the “old things” and cling to the new. In our “newness of life” we represent Jesus to a world that desperately needs His salvation. We become light in the darkness and salt for the unpreserved. Let’s go forth this day and truly be salt and light that all who cross our pathway will sense God’s mercy, grace, and amazing love.
