Cannonball for Jesus

Yesterday afternoon, I had the privilege of seeing two college girls get baptized.  I would be lying if I said I felt any differently after witnessing all this, but this my feelings certainly don’t make this event any less miraculous.  Despite my lack of emotion, this event was not wasted on me as it caused me to stumble onto something quite profound.

Shortly after these two girls made their decisions, an inflatable pool was filled up with the icy cold water of a garden hose.  Because the stage was set, the minister who did the baptizing asked if there was anyone else who wanted to be baptized at that time.  In the pause that followed this proposition, I overheard another student whisper facetiously to a friend that he wanted to cannonball into the pool.  Without giving much thought to this comment, I snickered under my breath at the often childish antics of college boys.  Later on, however, I would give that statement a little more thought. 

Many people question the relevance of baptism.  Is it really necessary to get into heaven?  Does baptism determine my salvation?  If so, should I baptize my child, “just in case” something unspeakable happens?  Or, is that obsolete, since a baby can’t make a decision to follow Jesus on his/her own?  Is it the act of being immersed in water that has saving power?  Is just being sprinkled with water enough, or do I have to be submerged?  Is it the state of the heart and mind that precedes the act itself that grants us salvation?  It seems that just the mention of the word “baptism” arouses a wide array of opinions in people.  Unfortunately, these often lead to heated and emotional debates.

Last night, as Habibi and I were discussing this, he brought up a valid point:  We are asking the wrong question.  Should we not be asking ourselves, “am I making a genuine effort to follow Jesus?”  If that means taking the humble (and sometimes uncomfortable) step of being baptized as an adult, should we not “jump in?”  For that matter, this idea can and should be applied to all aspects of our lives, not just whether or not we take a holy bath. 

Although I know that the boy I overheard legitimately did want to cannonball into the baby pool, I couldn’t help but reflect a little bit on the image his comment created in my mind.  So often, we drag our feet when we feel obligated to do the right thing.  But, shouldn’t we be eager to do the things that Jesus asks us to do?  If Jesus said “be baptized,” I can’t help but think we should be racing to cannonball into the baby pool, horse tank, bathtub, lake, puddle, swimming pool or nearest body of water.  If Jesus said “go to the bank” or “tie your shoes,” I would hope to respond with the same enthusiasm because it isn’t so much the fact that we are getting our hair wet as it is we are doing what Jesus told us to do.  Shouldn’t we be doing that in more areas than just the one?  My “spiritual” life should not be segregated from the rest of my life; they should be integrated as they are one in the same.

However, this is a loaded commentary.  I, like many people, have not felt “the call” to do this or that.  In fact, I hate it when people (especially me) say “I felt called to _____” or “she just felt like God was calling her to ____.”  I think it’s pretty corny to use that lingo.  Yet I understand what people are trying to express, so I do my best to overlook it.  In any case, how can we respond to what God may or may not be “calling” us to do if we don’t feel like we’re hearing from him?

This is something that I am continually working on, through and around.  Certainly, we can’t respond to every little inkling we get.  If so, I would have 30 adopted kids, countless animals from the humane society and no means with which to support them all (because I would have given it all away to the starving people around the world).  And yet, I wonder if Habibi and I are being “called” to adopt a child from Eastern Europe, if we are being “led” to work in a mission-type setting in post-modern France, if we are being “told” to stay put and live our comfortable, boring lives right where we are.  Regardless of the word we choose, I have felt “pulled” each of these actions.  What does that mean?

I don’t know.  But for now, I am doing my best (whatever that means) to focus on making “disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” wherever that “leads” me.