Our three-year-old daughter...sat with us during the baptismal service last Sunday night, which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, "Why did he push that guy in the water? Why, Dad, why?" My wife tried to explain briefly and quietly, but [she] just wouldn't be satisfied. Later that night we tried to provide an answer that a child's mind could comprehend. We talked about sin and told [her] that when people decide to live for Jesus and "do good" they want everyone to know. We then explained that water symbolizes Jesus' washing people from sin; when they come out "clean," they are going to try to be "good." A moment later, we realized we'd have to work on our explanation a bit. [She] had immediately responded, "Why didn't Pastor Bob just spank him?"
This young girl sensed immediately that her parents (well-meaning) explanation of baptism was just not right. Indeed, baptism is not about our behavior (which might indeed merit a spanking). No, it's about Jesus' behavior - it's about what our Savior has done already for us and with us as the "vicarious" human: God, the Creator and Sustainer of all, become flesh to live for us, die for us, rise for us and ascend for us. In our baptism we are celebrating and proclaiming our identification with this Jesus who is our life.
The mother was simply wrong in describing baptism as a symbol of a person "deciding to live for Jesus and determining to 'do good.'" Instead, baptism is a "sacrament" - a re-presenting of the gospel story. And that story is not about what we do in exchange for God's washing us from sin - rather it is about what Jesus has done already for us and with us so that, in union with him, we are forgiven, accepted, loved and wanted.
Sadly, many view God as a "contract" God and forgiveness as a "transaction" in which we give God our "decision" - including our belief and our determination to "do good" - and, in exchange, God then forgives us. This is both a false view of the ground of our forgiveness and is a truncated view of salvation itself.
Scripture proclaims salvation to be a relationship with God, in Christ, into which Jesus has placed us by becoming one with us. United with us in his Incarnation, Jesus died and we all died; Jesus rose and we all rose; and Jesus ascended to heaven and we are all seated there with and in him (see 2Cor 5:14-17; Ro 5:12-19; Eph 2:4-10).
Our baptism thus pictures what Jesus has done for us and with us: we are dead to sin with Chirst; alive forever with him in his resurrection. Thank you Jesus! Any child would embrace a Father who loves us that much!
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