Baptizing Becca
by Mark Roberts
On December 6, 2000 I stood in the baptistery at Westside to baptize yet another person into Christ Jesus. I am an old hand at this. Yet I found myself shivering, if only for a moment. This wasn't my first baptism yet it was entirely different from anything that I have ever experienced before. I was baptizing my own daughter in Christ Jesus. On that cold Wednesday evening Rebecca Roberts was born into the Body of Christ.
It is difficult to put into words all that runs through a father's mind at a moment such as this. After the baptism Rusty asked me to pen a few lines about it all. My immediate reaction was ""What will I say of such an occasion?"" In truth, I am not sure that the reality of that night has fully hit me even two months later. Yet I remember a rush of emotions and feelings and thoughts - some of which I still cannot quite sort out.
More than anything, I am keenly grateful to Jesus Christ. Rebecca isn't very old. She is only eleven. Yet already she had consciousness of sin. Dena and I and Rebecca had worked very carefully through the new Am I Ready? book and I noted that the questions most designed to pick up understanding of personal sinfulness were the ones she answered easiest and without hesitation. At only eleven Rebecca already knows she has not lived up to the design of her Creator. She knows she is a sinner. She is part of the ""all"" in Romans 3:23. Alas, if sin can begin in one so young it is also certainly so that guilt comes right along with it. What would I say to my daughter when she anguishes about harsh words, hurt feelings, lies told, or some other dark deed? How would I console her? To say ""Don't worry about it"" would be to risk raising an amoral child, who perhaps might go on some day to large crimes without conscious or compunction. To tell her she needs only to apologize to the ones wronged still falls short. The sinner is most disappointed with self, and the cleansing of the soul that is needed to remove guilt cannot come from some other human saying ""I forgive you."" Who will forgive the sinner for failing to be what they were made by God to be? So what could I say? This is truly one of life's big issues. Like so many before her, Rebecca wants to know, ""When I mess up how can I find forgiveness?"" So we must say ""Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"" (2 Cor. 9:15). In Christ Jesus one finds the only answer. Here, and here alone, can one discuss sin without minimizing it or making it into a monster that cannot go away. Yes, we have all sinned. Yes, we feel wretched about our sin. But yes, you can be forgiven and be clean in Christ Jesus. What a priceless gift!
If it is impossible to think of any thing other than Jesus in the baptistery, it was hard for me not to think of those outside the baptistery who had meant so much in our efforts to raise Rebecca to understanding and tenderness to God's word. Sitting in the audience that evening were two sets of godly grandparents. What a contribution they have made! Since Rebecca and Sara were small they d to visit their grandparents. Dena and I have often left them at the grandparents for several days, securely knowing that they would be going to services, be directed to do right in their play together, and would never see a bad example of hypocrisy or sin from these they love so much. As grandma and grandpa prayed, or read the Bible before bed time or got ready to go to worship Rebecca and Sara were seeing what our family is built on. Serving God wasn't just something mom and dad were interested in. All of the people they are closest to emphasize the importance of New Testament Christianity in their own lives. Such fine examples make an incredible difference. What would Dena and I say if we had to explain why grandpa uses foul language, or why grandma doesn't go to church? What effect would seeing grandpa hold a beer have upon my attempts to teach the girls that such isn't right? For certain Dena and I had worked diligently to bring Becca to this moment, but our efforts were not alone. We thank God for those who are so close to Becca, so beloved by her, who have continually encouraged her to take her place in God's family.
Finally, one thinks soberly of the tremendous responsibility that continues in raising a child who is trying to serve God. It was a joy to see Rebecca arise from the watery grave of baptism as a new creature in Christ, but contemplating her immediate future gives one pause. Rebecca will now be singled out by the devil in a new and terrible way. To be a Christian is not easy, nor is it a commitment to be taken lightly. Dena and I knew that Rebecca had chosen a difficult and hard way in this world by opting to walk the straight way. The majority of her friends will not understand her values. She will be called upon to choose right when most nearly everyone else is choosing wrong. She will find sin to be socially condoned all around her, and yet know that Jesus expects her to still do right. Somehow Dena and I help her to keep on choosing the Lord's way. She has come so far and done so well, yet much remains to be done. We dare not let up just as she is beginning her walk with Christ.
I would not trade those minutes in the baptistery with my daughter for all the money in the world - doubled! Truly, a man's soul is worth more than all the world (Matt. 16:26) but so is the soul of his child. May God bless every righteous parent as we strive to faithfully raise our children to be His children.