Baptism

Irene and I are getting baptized this Sunday.

I feel almost like a wolf in sheep's clothing announcing my baptism. I've been proclaiming to be a Christian all this time and yet I'm just now getting baptized? The short story is that, although I was baptized in the Catholic church at the age of four, my baptism wasn't an immersion baptism. I was held over the baptismal font and the water was poured over my head. When I was fourteen, I made a public profession of faith by going through the sacrament of confirmation. This sacrament, as a Catholic, is when you dedicate your life to God and state publicly that you believe and will follow Jesus. So do I feel that my salvation is in question? Absolutely not. I do not know what religion or denomination any of my readers follow, so I'm not trying to step on any toes, but my belief is that the basic "rules" for salvation include a confession of faith, repentance from sin, belief in Jesus Christ, and a water baptism. I have all of these today.

But I learned something new a few weeks ago. In the original greek text, the word for baptism is baptizo, and means "to immerse". I have been researching and praying about this for the last few weeks and have finally come to a decision that gives me peace. I just want to do exactly as Jesus commanded that I do, clearly written in the bible. I want to be baptized by immersion.

Even though we don't attend a Catholic church now, I'm proud of my roots and the way I was raised. This decision doesn't change that. I'm thankful that I was raised in a home that believed in God and thankful for my thirteen years at Catholic schools where I was taught that the Bible is the word of God. Those are my roots and they are strong.

And, although I was raised in a family that was very active at our church and attended Catholic schools, I fell away from the church in my late teenage years and didn't really return until 4-5 years ago.I'm a prodigal daughter and I want to re-dedicate myself to my Father's service, humbling myself before Him and His church. I want to make my return to the church public. I am proud of Who I serve, proud of what I believe.