Remember your Baptism!

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

The Psalmist talks about how the one who follows the Lord is like a tree, planted by streams of water. I think of my baptism like I think of the planting of a tree—no one plants a tree and hopes that it will never change, but the act of planting a tree is a radical act of hope. The planter is daring that in spite of the storms and droughts of life, this tree will sink its roots deep into the ground and dare to reach for the heavens.

Just as many of us do not remember the planting of the trees that surround our lives, I don't remember my baptism. I am told it was a beautiful day in Austin, but it scarcely matters—what matters is that, on that day, a course was set for my life, a commitment was made, and I began to grow. I began to grow slowly, and sometimes I still grow very slowly. My roots were put into the ground, but there was much work to be done, just as there still is, in sinking those roots securely, in learning about God, in growing in Christ. Much of my life of faith is done below ground, where it cannot be seen. But I grow in visible ways, too. With each passing year I hope to stretch myself a little closer to God, to reach for the heavens that linger beyond where I can ever grow. But I strive nonetheless to grow in my faith, to let my whole life be growth toward God.

That is my baptism to me—a planting of a life near the river of life, where true life alone can be found. It is a recognition of Christ's claim on my life and a promise, made on my behalf, that I will live a life in response to God, one that will bear witness to the world that I live according to God's grace. Hopefully, this life will bear fruit for God's glory, that others may yearn to sink their roots near the same river of life and stretch for the same heavens. Not only do we stretch upward, but we stretch out as well—reaching out to our neighbors, testifying to the goodness of God, proclaiming that this water of life is richer than anything we could imagine. My baptism was a beginning for me, and I trust that when this mortal life is over, I will complete my baptism and pass through the shadow of death into life more beautiful than I can imagine. I will not cease to grow—rather, I believe that as a tree sheds its leaves so that it can burst forth with life anew in the spring, I will be transformed by the selfless love of God.