Spring Forward

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

The daylight is lasting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and the plants are establishing their new growth. Minus the hay fever, it’s the time of year I look forward to the most. The cold darkness of winter gives way to new life. It’s little wonder why the early church, in wanting to establish a celebration of Jesus coming to Earth, decided the first day of Spring would signify Mary’s conception. In following the train of thought of new life, I also contemplated baptism; that symbolic gesture of the old being washed away and being reborn into the kingdom of God. Although it was practiced before Jesus’ sacrifice—he himself having been baptized—it has come to represent a shared burial and resurrection by many denominations. Do we really appreciate this moment, or do we treat it as a check mark on our list of religious things to do and go back to business as usual?

The Saturday morning of Easter weekend, as I laid in bed trying to soak up the last few minutes of sleep before the day began, I felt the sheets on me and thought about the strips of linen that wrapped Jesus’ body as he laid in the tomb. No life would stir them on that day as his soul was on mission in the spiritual realm. If the submersion of baptism is meant to pattern this event, it is a profound moment that we many times take for granted. Furthermore, do we actually live a life in resurrection? After Jesus’ resurrection he was transformed to the point that those who had been with him for years didn’t recognize him.

“At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.” John 20:14 NIV

Even after appearing to them, the disciples had to adjust to this new Jesus.

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” John 21:4 NIV

After your baptism, have you lived in such a way that the people closest to you see you transformed? Of course we will stumble, but if you have made the commitment and then return to your old ways as if nothing has happened, your baptism is reduced to a rinse off with an audience. Instead, let those of us who have taken this step in salvation go forward into our new life, with our spirits as one with Jesus.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV