Daily Archives: December 30, 2008

When I first started Mama Loves, I told you you don’t have to be a mama to participate. Today is proof of that. Today is also kind of a Sunday Morning Leftover a la Spaghettipie.

Mama loves baptisms.

It’s not really the baptisms themselves, but the proclamation of salvation, the sharing of testimonies, the undeniable evidence of lives changed through the power of God’s grace. I weep every time.

A few weeks ago our church hosted a baptismal service. Twelve people, from age thirteen to seventy, shared their diverse testimonies before our pastor dunked them. One girl asked Jesus into her heart when she was four and then dedicated her life to Him at church camp. Immediately after her came a former drug addict and club owner who asked God for salvation in a crack house. The contrast startled me, but I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. This man, after sharing his testimony of how God drew him out of his addictions and toward a new life, reminded us that the grace that made it possible is the same grace that saved the young girl who preceeded him. He said:

“Understanding the truth of God doesn’t lead to an encounter with God; it IS an encounter with God. All testimonies are the same.”

As a young believer I wished for a more dynamic testimony. I wished I had made more mistakes before meeting God so that I could wow people with God’s fathomless love, His limitless forgiveness. But what this gentleman said is so true! We may think some testimonies are simple or dull, they don’t have enough drama, but every testimony is amazing. Every story of salvation is a miracle. They are our stories of passing from death to life. What could be more dynamic than that?

This is why I love baptisms. They remind me of the grace shown me and how that grace grows old and never runs dry. How awesome that God can reach so many different people in so many different ways! And to be able to share that publicly with others? My heart overflows.

If this is something you love too, you gotta check out Heidi’s post on Faces. It made me … well, weep. You know those happy cries Ellie talks about? I love it.

Your turn. What are you loving this week?