from Jason Micheli at Jesus Creed:___
To the Church about to Baptize My Baby:
Be warned.
It's all cuteness and lace now, but in no time at all, my little baby boy-- after a brief sojourn in childhood-- will hit adolescence. His hormones will kick in and quickly conspire to undo all the good you've done in him.
These will be the years that he'll push you, Church.
He'll suddenly wonder how Jonah could survive that dark trip in the whale's belly. He'll argue that David may have bested Goliath but that he's no match for Tom Brady and, besides, David's hardly the unblemished hero his Sunday School teachers made him out to be. Proud of himself, he'll point out that Noah never would have had to build the ark had God not decided to flood everything and everyone in the world.
He'll push you, and if you're not up to the challenge he'll be tempted conclude that everything you've taught him and everything you teach is, at best, a fairy tale and, at worst, a lie.
And this might be the first time someone he knows or loves dies.
When that happens, Church, you better not resort to clichés. You better be prepared to show him resurrection-of-the-body hope at work among you.
Before the water hits my baby's head, I hope the irony will have hit you upside yours: my boy will never be able to live out his baptism if you, Church, don't live out yours.
___
The entire post can be read here.
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