I Have Decided To Follow Jesus

With her green dress tailored made and her hair tightly curled, anyone could tell that she had dressed her very best for this day. 

The day of her death, or better yet, the day of her brand new life. 

That's what baptism is, you know. It's a physical representation of something so spiritually deep - the resurrection story in which we get to both receive and participate. We receive - the gift of salvation by grace through faith - because Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected to save us from our sins that separate us from God. And then we participate (or respond) to this free gift by undergoing a death to ourselves, a burial of our old lives captive to sin, and a resurrection into new life of surrender to the lordship of Jesus. All symbolized by entering the water, being immersed for the washing away of sins, and being raised again in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's kinda crazy, isn't it? Such power and significance in such an act, yet it's not the act in and of itself that saves but the Savior around which it is centered. 

"For its no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Such a wonderful mystery! Such a wonderful savior! 

This baptism was particularly special and exciting because the young lady in the green dress came from a Muslim family, and the decision she made to follow Jesus on this day has an impact on her relationship with her family. She could suffer consequences. She also could make an eternal impact on the ones she loves the most. She could bring her whole family to Jesus, we pray. 

When our team gathered to celebrate her baptism, we began with a time of worship, prayer, and encouragement. Just like a woman in my church gave me a bookmark with my name, the date, and a scripture when I was baptized, so I passed the gift along and wrote out a scripture for the girl in the green dress and gave it to her with a blessing during the time of encouragement. I don't know what I said, but it brought tears to her eyes, and I pray that she heard God speak to her, not me. 

It was a beautiful, cool, windy day as we walked down to the water's edge together and witness the dying and raising of the girl in her green dress. What was even more beautiful than the weather or the outfit was the joyful singing and dancing of our team as she walked out of the water and entered into the embracing arms of her new family. 

"Moi, j'ai décidé de suivre Jésus! Moi, j'ai décidé de suivre Jésus! Moi, j'ai décidé de suivre Jésus! Toujours tout droit, sans reculer!" 

"I have decided to follow Jesus! I have decided to follow Jesus! I have decided to follow Jesus! No turning back, no turning back!" 

It's moments like these that lift my eyes to heaven and my thoughts to eternity. These are the moments  that matter, that I treasure up in my heart. Not because of anything I've done, but because of what Christ has done for us.