I’m Baptized, Now What?

As the one-year anniversary of my baptism is closing in, I have been thinking a lot about my experience of baptism and my ever-growing relationship with the Lord. I was baptized last March after a few months of conversation with the Lord, and a few years, (like 13), since being saved. I felt closer to the Lord than I ever had before. It was time. I was so excited for this next step, and when I came up from under that water I truly felt rejuvenated… then I didn’t. Quicker than I would like to admit, I lost that zeal for Christ.

What I am missing?

After hearing other Christians’ experiences of how they felt like a different person after being baptized, I had expected my experience to be the same, and was disappointed when I did not feel much different. I didn’t feel any closer to Jesus, if anything, my time with Him was growing smaller and smaller, and I got swallowed up in the UNholy trinity—me, myself and I.

I continued on the rollercoaster of following Christ, and had my times of being close to the Lord, and being far from the Lord (admittedly more than the prior). If anyone knows me they know how much I love rollercoasters, but this one was draining, and disheartening. It came to a climax in the fall, and if the Lord was in Texas, I was… on the moon.

Last semester was the pits. As good ole’ Cary Ard would say, I was lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut. I was busy, to say the least, constantly running around frantically like a chicken with its head cut off, and the times of quiet were often filled with worrying about what I was forgetting (because there was no way I actually had free time?!), not realizing the only real thing I was forgetting was the Lord. I continued to go to service and Bible study, but I felt disconnected… like I was missing something.

A few weeks ago however, I realized what I had been missing all this time. The burnt offering! We have recently been reading Leviticus, and though it is a tough read, the truths that have been revealed to me have been burning in my heart, and have shown me how to live a life on fire (no pun intended) for God.

Some of the truths that have helped me recently include:

Christ is the only one absolute for God!

This may seem like a contradiction to what I just said in my last paragraph but hear me out. We cannot be absolute for God. We have a sin nature that prevents us from being even 1/568454th for God. But good news! We have Christ, who in His perfect humanity, lived a life that was 100%, completely, wholly, utterly for God. The burnt offering was, well, burnt! It was a male without blemish, burnt completely…to ashes (which is a whole other topic), given completely for the satisfaction of God, showing Christ’s absoluteness. Since we are not wholly for God, we must take in Christ, the one who IS.

We need to take Christ DAILY.

The fire was to be kept burning on the altar always, showing that this offering was to happen, get this, more than once. It is not a one-and-done deal. With the number of minutes in a day (525,600 to be exact…thank you high school choir), there are so many times to slip up. So many opportunities to live in the flesh, and not in the spirit. Therefore, we must take Christ as our burnt offering daily so that we can experience Him in His perfect life. When we take Christ as the burnt offering, we can live Christ in every situation. We get all these wonderful aspects of Christ and we get to experience them and live them out in our lives, and our own experiences.

This is what I had been missing in the time following my baptism. It was great that I made the public proclamation of being a Jesus-lover, but I was not doing a very good job of loving Jesus because I was trying to live a Christ-centered life, WITHOUT taking in Christ. In order for me to be on fire for God, I must take Christ as the burnt offering, as the only one absolute for God, DAILY. This daily act allows me to become closer with the Lord, and to live life through Him.

Practical Application

The whole concept of the burnt offering can be a bit daunting, it definitely was for me the first time I heard it, but the reality is, Christ is the only one who has lived a spirit-filled, perfect life, therefore, He is the only thing good enough to be offered to God. He takes the place of all of the offerings in the Old Testament, and He gives God peace, joy, and satisfaction. When we pray and give Christ to the Lord, we touch Him in our spirit, and we receive the reality and the bountiful supply of God.

In my recent experience of taking in more Christ, I have felt a sense of life that HAS made me feel different. It has allowed me to spend more time during the day talking with the Lord, getting into His word, and sharing it with others. (I even shared a bit about the offerings with my little sisters, though I don’t know how much sunk in). It has allowed me to let go of some resentment that has been festering, make more consecrations to the Lord, as well as to right some wrongs with family and friends.

Ultimately, for those in a spiritual-lull, whether far into your walk with Christ, or right after being rejuvenated, just take Christ as the burnt offering! For it is through Christ that your will becomes God’s will, and you begin to live a life that, while it will never become completely for God (at least in your life on earth) it will be pretty close.

Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children: And walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. –Ephesians 5:1-2

By: Alina Scarlett