Face Time with God

1 Peter 3:18-22

"For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him."

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Any parent who has adopted a child knows the joy of bringing a new member into the family. There is joy in the heart of our Heavenly Father when someone is baptized into his family. Baptism is like adoption. All children, all people are orphans in a world of sin. We have all been orphaned outside of the family garden, Eden. Our pride and self centered rebellion against God prove that we are a sinful humanity. We are orphans in a dark world of sin. A world of shadow and confusion. And if it weren’t for the infinite love of God who desires to be in relationship with us, we would be lost. It is in Jesus Christ, the savior of humanity, that God was able to become like us in every respect. In so doing, the Son put away his divinity so that he might fully identify with the people t hat he wanted to make his family. He became like us, so that we might be able to know and understand the very Father who desires us to be his children. But there was a cost to be paid. The cost was the cross.

Holy God, let me be ever mindful of the depth of your love, a love so deep that it led to the cross. Amen

Rev. Joel Martyn