Even Jesus was baptized. I have known many people who commit their lives to God, proclaiming their faith but simply are too scared to take this one step of obedience to God. I've never understood it, but then again I was baptized in high school. I had my friends encouraging me and standing by my side all the way through it. They cheered me on, bought me a new Bible, invited their friends. It was a celebration.
I remember it to be a little scary because it is a profession in front of all your friends, but in the end I knew I was making a choice to follow God with my whole life. Maybe that's it. Maybe it's the fear of commitment. Or maybe it's the fear that now you have made yourself accountable to those who witnessed it. Or maybe it's the humility we are forced to demonstrate in front of the people. As a young girl, and still as an adult, I'm either all in or all out. I've never been one to do things halfway, so when I met Jesus and knew He was the truth I needed in my life, I was all in. Since that day, I've made mistakes and turned away with a bad decision or thoughts of a different life, but I've never denied my God.
Being all in doesn't mean I'm perfect or that I won't have pain and suffering. It doesn't mean things will come easy and life will always be good on earth.
Being all in means I have a God that is bigger than me and He can move mountains when they get in the way of my serving Him wholeheartedly.
Being all in means I can trust that God is good because he has protected me in the storms and kept me safe from harm. He has performed miracles in my life.
Being all in means when the darkness moves in, He brings light.
Being all in means I have a love greater than any human can provide.
This Sunday, another believer I know will be all in through the baptism of water and I pray that through his obedience, God will show him what it means to feel the Holy Spirit and know God is pleased with his son through the cleansing of the Spirit. Baptism is a public commitment to follow Jesus and to be washed of the sins in our lives so we can live freely in the spirit with a father who loves us. It is "all in."
If you have waited and have been afraid to publicly commit to Jesus, I pray you consider what it means to be all in and live the life Jesus has sacrificed for you.
