Baptism 3
The life of faith encompasses several events and moments that we journey through multiple times during the course of a lifetime. The devotion below by Pastor Nate is part of an ongoing series that explores these central themes of Christian doctrine.
“At our baptism these words are spoken: “You have been marked by the cross of Christ forever.’ We are claimed by God as God’s beloved and nothing else gets to tell us who we are.” – adapted quote from Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
Baptism is about identity. It is the Initiation Rite of the Christian faith and so it carries with it an entirely new identity. In baptism we are marked as Children of God; we are connected to the ongoing story of the Christian Church; we are forever labeled as the beloved of God.
There are so many other voices in our world and in our life that try to tell us different stories. We can be seduced into thinking that our worth is dependent on our accomplishments or that our identity is dictated by the opinions of our peers but our baptism is meant to be this event that forever tells us a better story.
A baptism is this ritual that includes prayers and water and the stories of scripture and a gathering of people. It is a very involved moment because it is all witnessing to a much deeper and more enduring truth than any of the other messages we hear in life. A new identity as God’s Beloved Child is established in our baptism and nothing can take that away from us.
The life of faith encompasses several events and moments that we journey through multiple times during the course of a lifetime. The devotion below by Pastor Nate is part of an ongoing series that explores these central themes of Christian doctrine.
“At our baptism these words are spoken: “You have been marked by the cross of Christ forever.’ We are claimed by God as God’s beloved and nothing else gets to tell us who we are.” – adapted quote from Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber
Baptism is about identity. It is the Initiation Rite of the Christian faith and so it carries with it an entirely new identity. In baptism we are marked as Children of God; we are connected to the ongoing story of the Christian Church; we are forever labeled as the beloved of God.
There are so many other voices in our world and in our life that try to tell us different stories. We can be seduced into thinking that our worth is dependent on our accomplishments or that our identity is dictated by the opinions of our peers but our baptism is meant to be this event that forever tells us a better story.
A baptism is this ritual that includes prayers and water and the stories of scripture and a gathering of people. It is a very involved moment because it is all witnessing to a much deeper and more enduring truth than any of the other messages we hear in life. A new identity as God’s Beloved Child is established in our baptism and nothing can take that away from us.
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