Writings: The Baptism Filter

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

Baptism is very important. It is the point of our initiation into the family of God. In baptism we are immersed in Christ Jesus; in baptism we are submerged into Christ’s life, grace, peace, love, and presence; in baptism we are declared the “children of God,” joint heirs with Christ of the manifold riches of God’s grace.

According to the historic definition of a sacrament, Baptism is “the outward and visible sign of God’s inward and spiritual grace.” The ritual, itself, is an outward expression of that which God has already done, is doing, and will continue to do within us all. Through Baptism we know that we are loved and accepted, forgiven and renewed, called and commissioned by God to be God’s representatives in this universe. Baptism is also the Church, declaring before the world, that God’s amazing, before-going, prevenient grace has accepted us before we have done anything to accept God; in baptism, we are all passive recipients of God’s love – this is true for all who are baptized, regardless of age or cognitive ability. In an infant’s baptism, therefore, families and the church are proclaiming that God loves this child, accepts this child as God’s own, and that nothing will separate this child from God’s love. The outward action is both symbolic and actual: it is an affirmation and an actualization of God’s loving acceptance that will never change. The inner action is eternal and ever-present, already done by God on the cross in Jesus nearly 2000 years ago, and recognized through the outer action as proclaimed by the Church.

And the result is a kind of filtering. You see, in a metaphysical sense that goes beyond any physical washing, in baptism we are filtered by God’s love: the icky stuff of life: our self-will, our self-centeredness, our self-absorption and self-pride, is filtered out to make room for the good stuff of God’s love: God’s will, God’s centeredness, God’s pleasure, and God’s pride in us.

As we grow, as we mature, as we are raised in a family of faith, by a family of faith, we experience the amazing grace of God saying about us:

“You are my child, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

When I was growing up, one of the things I desired most was to have the approval of my mom and dad: I wanted them to be proud of me, of my accomplishments, of who and what I was. I wanted their recognition and acceptance: I wanted them to be “well pleased” with me. I was blessed in that they told me that they were, repeatedly, throughout my life. The last time talked with my dad, the night he died, he told me that he loved me and that I “made him proud.” And, in our Baptisms, that’s what God says to us. God’s affirmation about Jesus at his baptism wasn’t just about Jesus … it was also about us.

“You are my child, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Hear those words; feel those words; believe those words. Know that there is nothing that you can ever do that will change God’s love and acceptance. There is nothing that Archie will ever do, that will cause God to stop loving him. There is nothing that any of us could ever possibly do that would ever change God’s love for us. That is what we proclaim in baptism. That is what we receive in baptism. That is what we share, and what has been shared with us, in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism.

© 2022 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
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