Gospel

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You know, growing up in Church you learn an awful lot of good stuff. You also learn how to fake being right with God when around His people, when you know you’re not. When I decided to get serious about pursuing a relationship with God in my late teens, I went through a long period of time trying to live up to what I thought the proper standards of a Christian lifestyle should be.

Needless to say, I fell short of my own expectations. I had all this stuff, this head knowledge I had been taught throughout my childhood, but I kept missing something basic…something simple. Something I thought I had a firm understanding of, but for some reason it took a long time for the reality of it to sink in; that His grace is what saves me from myself. Nothing I do or don’t do. No ritual. No ridiculous legalistic standards, like what I wear or how my hair is cut (to those who know me, obviously, I’ve gotten over that). Ephesians chapter 2 finally became a reality in me.

Baptism was something I was never pushed to do. My Dad pretty much left it up to us as to when we felt we were ready. All of the time I wasted trying to be Johnny Christian, trying to be what I thought a Christian should be, I never felt I was ready…never felt I was quite good enough. When I finally realized I would never be good enough, I came to the point of true surrender. By then though…I felt kind of embarrassed that I had grown up in church and never been baptized.

I walked in a couple weeks ago (late due to work) and caught the end of what my Pastor was saying about having a baptismal service, and thought to myself…”yeah, I should do that” and then quickly forgot about it. Then last week in his sermon he was talking about removing barriers, dams to God’s grace that make us stagnant. God really moved on me, gave me that “bump,” to get baptized. It is long overdue. While I know it is not necessary for Salvation, it is commanded that we be baptized, and it is time for me to be obedient…to overcome…no…Surrender my embarrassment, to show that my commitment to Him is absolute.

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