I
come from a secular family, and made friends with a Christian girl in high
school who introduced me to her world of faith.
I was fascinated, and drawn by the friendliness of the people, but it
was a weird cross-cultural experience in many ways. The gulf between my
intellectual upbringing and the charismatic church meant that it was several
years before I gave up waiting for ‘proof’ of God’s existence and decided I
wanted in anyway. I was 18.
Our church usually baptized people at the
beach, but it was decided that we would have a joint service at the local Church
of Christ which had a baptismal pool. This was disappointing and I don’t
remember being asked, but I probably would have gone along with their
preference anyway.
I remember very little of the service. My
parents came, which was awkward as they were very uncomfortable with my
association with Christians, but they surprised me with a gift of a silver
chain for my cross. I don’t remember
giving a testimony. I didn’t know anyone else being baptized and there were
lots of unfamiliar people in the church.
I was wearing a white robe and I was laid
back into the water by my church minister and a friend. I was hoping desperately for some kind of
spiritual ‘feeling’ to occur, and I was trying to act the way I thought people
were supposed to act when they undergo a significant faith experience, which
means that somewhere there exists a very embarrassing photo of me with eyes
raised to the ceiling after I come up out of the water. Shortly afterwards, I realized I’d forgotten
to bring a towel.
Were you fully immersed in your
baptism, or were you also playing a role? Ask God what uncomfortable new roles
you are being asked to practice now.
Reflection by Samara Pitt, South Yarra Community Baptist Church, 22 January 2016.
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