Today is a special day. My faith tradition does not baptize babies. We believe baptism is something that is entered into by an individual who has chosen to follow Jesus. Instead of baptism, we have a service of dedication. This morning my son and daughter in law will carry my little grandson to the front of their church and dedicate him to the Lord. What makes this so cool, is that years ago, on the same day, in the same church, my son and daughter in law were carried to the front of that church and dedicated to the Lord. It’s kind of cool when things truly come full circle.
Most of the dedication ceremony revolves around the idea that the parents will raise the child to follow Jesus so that when he is old enough to understand, he will accept Christ as Lord and Savior and enter into membership in the body of Christ through baptism. My son and daughter in law will make vows to that effect and those of us in the congregation will also stand before the Lord and vow to help them in this pursuit. All these people coming together to help one little boy grow to become a follower of Christ. That’s body of Christ stuff at its best.
So what does this have to do with you? Well, whether or not baby dedication is a part of your tradition, dedication itself is. All believers belong to Jesus. All believers are entrusted with speaking into the lives of the next generation. All believers are called to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. All believers are in this world to represent Christ. All of that requires dedication. We need to be dedicated followers of Christ, dedicated to His call and to His Church.
How dedicated are you today? This might be a good day to check yourself and adjust accordingly.
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