Baptism.

I'm getting baptized on April seventh at my church. It's the Saturday night service at six pm. I am thrilled to finally do it!! I think the only thing I'll miss about not being baptized is the shocked look on people's face when they discover I've not been baptized. I'm a strong Christian, and I haven't ever committed a really 'bad' sin before. I'm not perfect, but I've always been more mature than others my age. So everyone expects me to already be baptized. I find that rather funny.

See, I became a Christian at age five, but my parents wanted me to wait until I was thirteen to get baptized. I didn't see why they were making me wait, and I was mad at them for quite some time. Then, when I turned thirteen, I realized that my parents wanted me to wait because they wanted me to understand what I was doing by getting baptized. I don't believe baptism is something to take lightly. While it doesn't get you saved, it publicly symbolizes that from here on out, you're giving your life to Christ to advance his Kingdom. I know plenty of people that are baptized, but aren't acting Christ-like at all.

Which brings me to this point: I'm so thankful that my parents didn't fling me into the baptism pool as soon as I accepted Christ. Had they done that, it wouldn't have really meant anything because it wouldn't have really been something that I was choosing to do. Now that I'm older and more mature, baptism is the true profession that I no longer care about my plans and dreams, but I'm giving the few broken, worthless gifts I have to God, and he's going to turn that into something beyond anything I could achieve without him.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried wth him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:1-4