Washed By The Water

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." -- Acts 2:38

Baptism is a beautiful thing.  It is an outward illustration of the spiritual cleansing we experience when we are saved by our faith in the Lord.  The picture of the water cleansing our flesh so that the Holy Spirit can cleanse our hearts as we trust in Christ is priceless.  So much of faith is conceptual, but this visual is stunning.  Today we witnessed as several displayed their faith as they took the plunge--and John was one of them.  :-)  John was baptized as an infant, but had never previously taken this step of faith as an adult.  It was a long time coming and we couldn't be more thrilled to have been witnesses to this event.  And the stories behind this baptism make the day even more memorable.  :-) 

John was recently moved to make a date for his baptism.  He didn't make a big fuss about it or call a bunch of attention to it, rather he made mention of it to me and then he signed up.  Because of this, the kids kind of found out last minute that they were going to sit in service rather than go to Sunday school classes to enable them to watch Baptism Sunday service.  We are still pretty new to the church, so we really don't know how everything works there yet.  I had only seen one baptism service, but because it was at Easter, the format was somewhat special.  John had seen one service like they had today where the congregation celebrated communion and baptism in one day.  That helped him out a bit in anticipating how the flow of service might go because he signed up for baptism a little late and missed out on the baptismal preparation class (our church does the class as a help for understanding, but does not require it.  They want all who are willing to participate so they even allow for baptism decisions to be made on that day--it's really nice).  We were kind of prepared, kind of not exactly sure how the morning would flow, but we were there and as ready as could be--John at least had swim trunks.  :-)  When the Pastor called for all of the baptism participants to go get changed, John grabbed his stuff and stepped out.  Our church provides towels and the "I Trusted Jesus" shirts for everyone who gets baptized (those shirts are awesome by the way). 

One by one, the participants filed back in to the sanctuary where the troughs of water were set up (warm water by the way).  The believers took their turns making their statements of faith and being immersed.  I quickly realized that I was in a not-so-favorable location to get good pictures of this milestone, so I called on Jozsef to move closer to the action for photos.  I figured we could both document and I could filter out the best photos.  Jozsef gladly got up and headed straight for John.  I was a bit surprised.  I expected him to get closer, but he boldly went right to the front.  :-)  With Jozsef at his side, John was greeted by Pastor Jordan who asked John, "Who will baptize you?  Your son? (Jozsef's been getting to know the staff at church since he's been serving and John often sees the staff as he carts the boys back and forth for youth group).  John answered that he thought one of the Pastors would baptize him (Jason, our lead, or David, our adult ministry Pastor, whom John had been getting to know).  Jordan was content with that answer.  Then John quipped, "Hey Jordan, my son has a twenty spot for you if you hold me down just a little bit longer." (Jordan had made this joke at one time not long after we first met him--he's a great kidder).  Jordan chuckled and told Jozsef, "I'll hold him down, you bring him up".  They all laughed and then Jordan told John he would do the baptism.  John was good with that. So they began walking toward the stage together. John was the last of the group to be baptized at our service.  As they are walking, Jordan asked Jozsef, "Are you sure you don't want to baptize your dad?"  And before Jozsef could answer, Derrick (the lead youth Pastor, whom Jozsef works with) said, "Yeah!  I'll video for you!" to which Jozsef gladly agreed and just like that, it was set--Jozsef was slated to baptize John.  John was introduced to the congregation, he was asked to testify to his faith in Jesus, and then Jordan says, "And John's son is going to baptize him"--which was news to John.  :-)  John chuckled and said, "OK" and Jozsef proceeded with the honors. 

John gets in and is introduced

John is asked to testify to his faith

Being in the audience, I was surprised (but delighted) to see Jozsef baptize John.  Afterward, I expressed my surprise and John said there was a story behind that.  He told me of how three days ago, he had the thought, what if Jozsef were to baptize me?  He dismissed the thought deciding it was somewhat unconventional.   Then this morning, as we were sitting down for service, Jozsef leans over and asks John what he thought about the idea of Jozsef baptizing him.  John again dismissed the idea and said "no thank you" to Jozsef.  Then the service started and the baptism, with the conversations already outlined, started.  I laughed.  God had prepared John without him really realizing it.  :-) 

Jozsef baptizes his dad

John is washed by the water and has a happy soul

But it gets better.  Later this afternoon, Jozsef told me he had a back story to the baptism. Apparently, at the Easter baptism service, Jozsef began to think about how awesome it would be to be able to baptize his dad and his younger siblings who have yet to be baptized.  He decided to pray about it. Even though Jozsef wasn't sure why he felt moved to baptize them, he felt the call on his heart, so he asked God to bestow him the honor.  Flash forward to this morning, when Jozsef leaned over to ask John what he thought about the idea of him having the honor and John turning him down.   Jozsef told me that he didn't expect John to say "yes" but he had to ask.  So when John turned him down, he was okay with it.  Then Jozsef found himself in line with John when Jordan asked if Jozsef would be doing the baptizing.  Jozsef laughed and said, "I'd like to, but I'm just here to video."  Jozsef fully expected that to be the last of it.  He was caught off guard when Jordan asked again, as they were walking to the stage,  "You sure you don't want to baptize your dad?" as Derrick chimed in and took the phone so that Jozsef was free to participate.  Jozsef saw his in and took it.  Y'all, I'm telling you, God always gets His way!  That whole thing was beautifully orchestrated!  God moved everywhere and everyone who needed to be moved so that His original suggestion to John (His plan) was carried out.  And y'all, it was beautiful!  I laughed.  God moved--perfectly.  :-) 

All baptism participants are asked to sign their names on the trough to commemorate their day

It's official :-) 

I have no idea what the significance is of Jozsef baptizing John, but God made sure it happened.  :-)  Today was a really good day and all the thanks goes to God as as He moves in us and for us so that we get just what we need, even if we don't think it's the right plan.  His love for us continually amazes me.  <3 nbsp="" p="">

John in his awesome I Trusted Jesus shirt, soaking wet, and super happy.