Rules of Eengagement

Being engaged is a little like waiting for Jesus to come back . . .

December 30 last year was one of the most exciting days of my life. Not only did I succeed in climbing a rather stunning mountain, but I also became engaged at the top!

Since then my life has been rather busy. As well as the normal activities of work, study and socialising, I now have plans to make, things to book and ideas to turn into reality. I am—you could say—living in anticipation.

Being engaged is an interesting concept.

It is a statement of intention that you are getting married. It is a time of deepening love and friendship. It is a sign of serious commitment to the person and it obviously involves looking forward to the wedding day and the life you will share together.
Being baptised has often been compared to getting married, but after thinking about things for a while, I have come to the conclusion that it is actually more like getting engaged.

Being a Christian is living as a transformed person in anticipation of the transformed world. It is a time of waiting—faithfully—for the object of our love.

The Bible tells us that baptism signifies a death to sin and a new life in Christ. Romans 6:4 speaks of us being buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him to a new life (check out Colossians 2:12 also).

Getting baptised doesn’t mean you are going to be “perfect” from now on, but it is a public statement of turning away from our old way of life. The Bible calls this “dying” to sin. It is a sign of our commitment to God, a sign of our intention to love Him as the only God and to follow His way.

Baptism is also a sign of our intention to be at the greatest wedding of all time—the “wedding supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

Baptism is a public declaration of our decision to commit our lives to Christ, to live here and now belonging to Him and looking forward to our lives with Him—our forever lives.