Devotion - Monday, January 14

We make baptism the center of much that we teach and do.  To speak of baptism as a sacrament is to acknowledge that more happens in a baptism than we can comprehend.  Sacraments are mysterious.  Sacraments are encounters with God.  In a sacrament, God is the actor.

When faced with hardship or temptation, Luther was said to have replied "I am baptized!"

In understanding ourselves as one immersed in the waters of baptism, we place our trust in God and we express our confidence that God will care for us.  To be baptized is to be assured that while the arrows may strike us, they will not pierce our heart.  Remembering our baptism assures us that we may be pressed, but never destroyed.

In this week of the Baptism of Our Lord, it is good to reflect on the significance of our own baptism.  If you can't immediately recall the date of your baptism, this is a good week to find that date and place it on your calendar.  Begin the practice of annually remembering your baptism; hang your baptismal certificate in your room.

"I am baptized!"  What more need I know or what more could I need?