Mother's Day Baptism

This weekend, I had the best Mother's Day present possible - Little Bean was baptized into God's covenant family. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! We pray that she will always know that she is His, a beloved sheep in His pasture. We pray that she will know the abundant joy that only comes from knowing and serving her Lord.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

She did great during the baptism. She got squirmy right before we were called up, and stayed pretty squirmy while our pastor talked about baptism. But, as soon as he took her, she calmed down and just listened. She loves his voice! She didn't cry at all when he poured water on her head. And best of all, she didn't spit up on him - that was my great fear. =)

For those who aren't used to baptizing infants, I thought I'd explain what it means. I think it is often misunderstood. Infant baptism isn't the same as a declaration of salvation, or the same as a baby dedication. While we do take vows to teach Caitlin our faith (like a dedication), the sacrament itself isn't about us - it's about our baby and God. Baptism is how we are identified as part of God's covenant family - just like circumcision was to the Jews. Circumcision didn't guarantee that a Jew would have faith in the coming Messiah, neither does baptism guarantee that someone will have true saving faith in Jesus. However, God does give covenant promises that are generational - to "you and your children." As such, we baptize our children, teach them our faith, and trust that God will reveal Himself to her personally as she grows. Of course, she still needs to confess her faith when she gets older, but we pray that she won't ever remember a day when she didn't know Jesus as her savior.