Dear Neighbor,

In our Sunday morning bible study we discussed baptism. Our leader Shane had previously taught on the etymology of the word baptism, showing that the word means to immerse. He taught on the typology of baptism being a picture of death and resurrection. And he taught about the chronology of baptism in the scriptures and in history. He taught about other Christian beliefs about infant baptism; catholic, Lutheran and Reformed. Lastly, he went through several text of scripture refuting those views.

It was after this, during corporate worship service, while singing hymns and praises to our Lord that I saw the picture that I included. I saw the picture on the back of a woman’s phone in the pew in front of us. I recognized it as being the three-circles method of sharing the gospel, but it was different, instead of using words, the artist used symbols to tell a story.

The first circle represents the good world that God created; everyone loved God and one another. Then there is a man going his own way, running away from the world that God created. The next circle represents the world that we now live in which is broken. There are squiggly lines and arrows coming out of the world and these represent human efforts of escape but they are like cords that snap one back into the brokenness of this world. The next is a man praying and this symbolizes repentance. Instead of trying to escape the brokenness on his own, he comes to God with a sorrowful and contrite heart. The next circle is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Word descended and became flesh, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again; all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to King Jesus. The next is a redeemed man who believes the gospel and is headed back to the paradise of God.

What intrigued me about this picture is that it represents how I came; I was running from God, I attempted to escape the brokenness on my own, I came to God repentant, he preached to me the gospel, I believed and rejoiced. It intrigued me because I realized that baptism not only represents Jesus’ death and burial, but it also represents how a redeemed person comes to faith; dies to self and is alive in Christ.

Your Servant for Jesus’ Sake