Baptism Represents Commitment

Several years ago, I had the difficult responsibility of officiating the funeral for a young man who had left behind a wife and three children and had also served in the military. After I finished my eulogy, the deceased soldier's father made it a point to thank me. He affirmed his son's commitment to Christ by sharing, "He loved the Lord and his country so much that he was baptized in his military uniform."
The father's assessment of his son's faith practically and perfectly describes one of the main reasons why a person seeks to be baptized. See, baptism represents an inward and outward commitment to Christ.  Throughout the centuries, beginning during the times of Christ, baptism in many instances proved to be costly for the person being baptized because of persecution.  However, these threats didn't stop people from publicly professing their faith. For some, baptism resulted in being ostracized, threatened, jailed, beaten, or even executed.   Thus, the motivation wasn't comfort or prosperity, but rather it was a response to the Gospel and the call to follow Christ.  We can see this understanding and response on the Day of Pentecost, after Christ ascended to the Father 40 days following His resurrection.  On this day, Peter gave the first post-ascension sermon, which resulted in many people coming to Christ and being baptized.

Acts 2:40-41 says, "With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, ‘Be saved from this corrupt generation!' 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them."

Whether you were baptized many years ago, recently, or are getting ready to take this necessary step, remember that baptism represents your commitment to follow Christ. Therefore, seek to live for God's glory, look to grow your faith, give God your undivided focus, and leave the results to Him!