This post was originally written about March 28, 2016
I am a mother of two four year olds and a two year old: Disney is what we do. Tonight we watched Beauty and the Beast for the first time as a family. At the very beginning of the movie, the narrator tells the tale of how the prince becomes the beast: he tells of a hardened heart that could not love, of a prince who could not see beyond appearances, who comes under a spell that could only be broken by true love. And it tells of his hopelessness in his belief that no one could ever love a beast.
Being the day after Easter Sunday, it got me to thinking about the love of Jesus. Aren’t we all like the beast? Don’t we judge? Don’t we sin? Isn’t it easy to feel hopelessness in the fact that if anyone really knew us from the inside out, they could never love us? And yet that is the HOPE of Easter—of Christ’s resurrection—that in our hopelessness there is one who still loves us.
Brian and I were baptized on Easter. We were baptized as infants, but this public proclamation was our choice and our chance to pronounce the hope we have in Christ dying on the cross for our sins. Being baptized again is something that’s been on my heart for years—something I always pushed off: Oh, I’ll do it someday, I would convince myself. Honestly, I was afraid—of what others might think, of getting up in front of the church, of so many different things the devil can use against us… .
But then the Lord presented the opportunity and after much prayer and consideration, we said yes. The Lord’s timing is perfect, and I am so thankful for His perfect plan. I am thankful for a church that proclaims this hope on Easter Sunday, and I am thankful to share it with my dear husband.
Our church published a packet for people to take with them and part of it explains the purpose in baptizing on Easter. It says,
“There are two movements in baptism: descending into and arising out of the water. As we descend into the water, we are buried with Christ and die with him.
But we do not just descend, we are also raised out of the water… . We baptize on Easter Sunday because of Easter Sunday, because Jesus was raised from the dead. And so with each baptism we proclaim HOPE.”
And I know this is a moment I will always cherish. I can feel myself standing in wait before descending into the water, and I will always remember the moment of being below. The swirling of the water—the sound it made—muddled and swarming. All consuming. A pause. And then being lifted back up, a visible and tangible proclamation of hope.
What amazing love is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
The booklet the church handed out also had the testimonies of those being baptized. I will share that with you in my next post, my dear friends, and I remind you in the meantime: if you feel hopeless—a beast under a spell—find your hope IN CHRIST.