Baptismal meditation

Matthew 3:17: At Jesus' baptism, a voice from heaven said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.

Baptism is an adoption rite. By baptism, Jacob enters the family of God. He is going to gain dozens of older brothers and sisters, lots of parents, a heavenly Father, a heavenly Brother, a place at the Lord’s table, a promised inheritance, and on and on. In Jesus, the beloved Son, who was declared beloved Son at His baptism, Jacob is being brought into the family of the sons of God.

This is why I will take Jacob in a few moments, baptize him, and hand him back. When I place him back in your hands, you're receiving him as someone else's son. He's been admitted to a new family, of which you are also a part. He's coming back to you as a member of the family of God.

That means that he is a son of his Father, and raising him faithfully means teaching him to love and trust and fear his heavenly Father above all things. Raising him as a son of his Father means teaching him abut everything that Jesus says about the Father here in Matthew 6.

What does Jesus say? Jesus says that the Father sees in secret. There is nothing hidden from His eyes. He is the judge of all the earth, and everything hidden will come to light. Teach Jacob to practice the presence of God.

This is a fearful truth if we are trying to hide away sin. But Jesus tells us that our Father sees in secret in order to encourage us to pray, give, and fast in secret. Jesus goes on to tell us that the God who sees in secret is not a scornful school-marm, an intrusive disapproving disciplinarian, a God who is always on the lookout for an excuse to punish. The Father who sees in secret is a Father who comes loaded with gifts, ready to reward those who seek Him. Teach Jacob about the goodness of His Father.

What else does Jesus say about His Father? He tells us that our Father knows what we need before we ask. He says that our heavenly Father readily forgives the forgiving. He says that we can freely and trustingly ask Him for daily bread, for deliverance from temptation and the evil one. Teach Jacob these things. Introduce him to his heavenly Father.

This is our Father. This is Jacob's Father. Teach him to trust the Father who made him his son by water and the word.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 08:39 AM

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