I was given an enormous gift this weekend after my daughter asked me to be one of her encouragers at her baptism along with her mother. For those not familiar with the concept, an encourager is one chosen by the baptismal candidate to stand and speak words of (you guessed it) encouragement to them before the congregation and just prior to the moment of baptism.

The memory of a baptism is a powerful thing. It is a great statement before the church and the world of the promise of God in the life of the one being baptized, for the world and for those witnessing the event as well. It is a Gospel moment in the true sense of the Word if there ever was one. It is a reminder like stones gathered next to a river, of a moment of crossing, a place of significance in a life that one desires others to know about, to hear about. It can be a thin place.

Baptism is the first act of obedience in the Christian life…well, ideally it is. It is the first commandment of Christ after “Believe” but it is not taken as seriously as it should be in many places.

Acts 16:30-31 relate with wondrous simplicity the question that is, in one way or another, on the heart of every person everywhere:

[The jailer] “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”

How simple. Deceptively simple? No…simply simple. An unvarnished, unencumbered, clear response to a question that has been the source of agony for many a person. Believe, and in response to this belief we are called to baptism be it the baptism of a believer’s household or the baptism of the believer, it is baptism that stands like the lighting of a new lighthouse upon an endless rocky shore both warning and attracting wary travelers along the way.

My daughter has joined many in setting up her lighthouse and as such is part of  great multitude of witnesses throughout history that have done the same – many at the cost of their very lives. It is enough to make a father sinfully proud.

At any rate it was a powerful moment and I was honoured to offer the following words of encouragement to my daughter:

Isabella – you are brilliant. You are a brightness that cannot be extinguished.

Always know that the light you shine is Christ’s light reflected in, and through you. The closer you remain to Him in his Word, in prayer, and in life, the brighter you will shine bringing God’s grace and hope into the lives of everyone you meet.

This baptism is your living confession to everyone here that you and Jesus are joined in a way that no one can ever change…not even you. This baptism tells everyone that you have joined Christ in his work to save the world and I am so very proud of you for this.

Isabella, one of the meanings of your name is “the promise of God” and I want you to remember that your baptism is the most powerful symbol of the most powerful promise God has ever made…the promise to rescue you…the promise to hold you…the promise to walk with you through every kind of joy and every kind of suffering and never let you go. It is the promise of his Holy Spirit already living in you to help you and strengthen you.

The apostle Paul understood this promise and I will leave you his words as God’s promise to you from the letter to the Romans, chapter 8 verses 38-39:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”