Immersion
The theme of our 5th Mission Encounter Weekend this year is immersing ourselves in others. This image comes from Jesus’ baptism. Baptism was seen at the time as a sign of repentance. It was an act of confession. I have sinned and want to be cleansed from it to follow God and prepare for him to come. When Jesus entered the waters, it was not about sin though, because he was a sinless man. Instead Jesus’ immersion into the water represented his taking on of our burdens and pains and downfalls. Entering the world was not enough for Jesus, he needed to be where we were. He needed to feel our pain and reach the depths that we have gone. He needed to know pain and unfairness and death. And Jesus went to great lengths to find us and meet us where we were. He wasn’t afraid to be with the sinners and tax collectors of the world. In fact they were the people he loved to be around the most.
Jesus also invested everything he had for others to know God and understand how much he loved and accepted them. He didn’t own a house. He didn’t have the best clothes in town. He didn’t own a car or anything that would make him feel unapproachable by anyone. You see immersion means “involvement in something that completely occupies all the time, energy, or concentration available.” Jesus did exactly that. His whole life was centered around that one principle of showing the love of God to others and everything he did showed that unfailing and unconditional love.
The question is, are we following in his footsteps. Does everything we do help others know the love and acceptance of God? Are we immersing in those around us or are we keeping the miraculous gifts of God to ourselves? Jesus was willing to give up everything he had for others to know God’s love. He was willing to be poor, to not have a place to meet, to wonder about his next meal, to share the little that he had. He was willing to do all that to reach the people around him.
In the golden years of the church in America, people just entered the doors of the church and started coming. Today though we are in a culture that needs to know its real and true before they come. They have to see to believe. They have to see what it means to be a Christian. They have to see people with integrity care for them without strings. They have to be loved and thought of and accepted for who they are. They have to see that grace is real!
This isn’t going to be a one weekend a year kind of process either. Immersion for Jesus was daily, making each second count. Seeing the opportunities around him and taking advantage of them. Making himself aware of the needs and meeting them.
Showing the love of God I believe is worth giving up our lives. It is worth giving up our building and programs and everything we have. It was worth Jesus’ life. The reason we don’t immerse, or don’t get our feet wet is usually fear. Whether its fear of failure or loss or rejection or that God won’t take care of us. But as John Ortberg says, “we can’t let the no of fear trump the yes of faith.” Let’s begin to stamp out the fears in our lives and begin the immersion. We are Baptists anyway, let’s make immersion into others truly set us apart.