Initiation
Zach baptized two students Sunday morning who participated in the Boston mission trip, dedicated their lives to following Jesus, and were commissioned two summer missions. This puts them in the category of someone like Saul. According to Acts, he was baptized and very quickly embarked on his first mission experience. For believers, the Bible treats baptism like initiation. It’s an act of obedience to Christ, a public declaration of faith, and a formal commissioning into service in the life of Christ. The good news for Christians as well is that common, ordinary, uneducated folks, do not need formal training to serve. Your baptism is your public reference check that you, like the disciples, “have been companions of Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
In her testimony Sunday, Becca Winch expressed it this way:
During my second semester at FSU, I became drawn to three girls in my English class who eventually became three of my closest friends. Over the past two and a half years, they introduced me to Jesus and have so graciously shown me the same kind of unwavering, consistent love Christ has for us. It’s impossible to fathom the overwhelming love God has for me and how even with my multitude of flaws, imperfections, and daily mistakes, He continues to chase after me. I have learned that my relationship with Jesus is not something that is fleeting and that his love is eternal. I’ve also learned that following Christ is not an easy task and that he demands nothing less than my entire heart. He doesn’t want just a small sliver of it. Giving my life and my heart to Jesus, entirely, saved me from the backbreaking burdens I carried around for too long.
Christ continues to chase us…and send us. Thanks be to God. Pray for Becca and the 7 others who embarked on a summer mission that Christ will use to change lives. By so doing, they too will be changed.