Baptism -

The Holy Dunk


Growing up in a Christian household, you could say I was immersed with Bible stories.

I remember growing up, hearing all these stories of these Biblical men and women, and thinking well they're just like any other story I hear from the school library. So what's the point? Sunday school was just like story telling time, but each story had a message to take from it.

So I figured alright, these stories are told so that I can learn from them and be a good person. A good person. That was the mentality I had for a very long time; that I call myself a Christian because I go to Church to be a good person, and I listen to Christian music...

I. was. wrong.. entirely wrong lmao.

Christianity isn't about us being good, because no matter how hard we try, We're all sinners. We're all born sinners! no way in our own strength would we be able to mend our broken relationship with God because our own sin gets in the very way. So no, Christianity isn't about us being good people, it isn't a facade to put on to pride yourself with: "hey, look, I'm a Christian, I'm a God loving man, I'm a good person!".

Just look at us, look at the world, the world is not good, our thoughts and minds are pretty rubbish alot of the time, if we could see right through each other's minds and put it on every screen and wall possible, people would be scared! People would just run away!

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

(Romans 3:23)

"Your sins have cut you off from God" 

(Isaiah 59:2)

In ninth grade I went to my first youth group session (which I still go to now) and was really challenged by this whole concept of us being sinners, falling short of God's glory. My teacher/mentor kept on talking about baptism and what it symbolises, and what it meant to be a Christian.

Christianity wasn't about us being good, not at all.

It was about a person called Jesus Christ, who was perfect. He was good. And he was the one that died for all of our sins, each and every one of us. Imagine all the sins committed in one single day, the amount of sins in one year, an entire life time, for the billions and billions of people that have lived and will live in future generations... all sins past, present, future, all of it was placed on this one cross where Jesus died. All of it was placed on Him, a perfect sinless person and with it sin died. boom.

"Christ died for sins once for all... to bring you to God"

(1 Peter 3:18)

That image was just so powerful in my mind. Later on I had fully understood how I couldn't reach out to God alone, Jesus was the only way. The only way for a sinful wreck like me to be with God. And that's when I asked for forgiveness; accepting and trusting Christ to be my personal Lord and saviour, the only one who could wash my sins away.

"To all who received Him, 

to those who believed in His name,

He gave the right to become children of God"

(John 1:12)

And because of the Lord's amazing grace, we should learn to live lives that glorify him, that's where the being a good person comes in. It's not about glorifying ourselves by being good people, it's about glorifying Him.

For the wages of sin is death, 

but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23)

Jesus died for you and me. Think about it.