Amazing Grace
Amazing grace how sweet the sound - that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. - John Newton 1779
It was an
event much anticipated to which I had given many a thought.....so what an emotional experience
it was for me a year ago when I was baptized. I was so happy, I
cried. Full of joy, full of sorrow, I knew that I had been given a gift
that I did not deserve. Although I had
been baptized as a baby, I wanted to experience the immersion of
repentance. This time around, in knowledge and remorse of my sin against
God, with the intention of committing my life to follow Yeshua the Messiah, I
wanted to dip under the water and symbolically let my sin sink to the bottom of
the lake. I wanted to store this experience in my memory bank as a
beautiful picture of God's amazing grace.....to me.
Now a year later, many from our congregation gathered again by the water, in a spirit of repentance. Following the first-time, individual immersions, we went down into the water together - a physical reminder of having had our sins washed away by the blood of Yeshua, our Salvation. In this way, we remembered his death and resurrection......for us.
I love that our LORD directs his children to perform outward expressions of spiritual realities. He is such a good teacher, and he knows the way that we learn and remember. Like little children, we learn best by using all our senses. Our senses can trigger memories, and remind us of lessons learned. In immersion we may smell the salty breeze, see the water surrounding us, feel it's coolness that perhaps even takes our breath away, hear the sound of the splashing as we submerge and pop up again, and we may even taste a little saltiness in our mouth. We come up soaking wet - different looking than before we went down. The outward change reminds us of an inward change.
On the cross of sacrifice, our Savior took upon himself the sin-debt that no man could pay. With his own blood, he paid the price so that you and I could be set free from the punishment we deserve. Yeshua - our "Salvation" went down.....into death.....and on the third day, he arose.....to Life. Like him, in baptism, we go down.....into the waters representing death, and we come up.....to breathe the newness of life. Immersion represents New Life, or being "born-again". It represents that the LORD has been at work, internally re-creating our hearts. Immersion also marks the new beginning of a life dedicated to following the One who lovingly gave it all.....for you and for me.
Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away
The collage, Amazing Grace, was a gift to Pastor Henry Lenkeek.
It was created on canvas with photocopies from the Psalter Hymnal, layers of tissue paper,
and a bit of paint.
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