Final Baptismal Thoughts I once met with a young father who, despite strong protest from his parents, refused to have his infant son baptized. When I asked the Father why he felt the way he did he explained "I don't believe in original sin, I don't believe that this child has ever done anything wrong." I agreed with him. Original Sin is not a comment on the moral quality of an infant but a truth that claims that we are separated from God. By our own actions we are helpless, and as the ancients asserted, death is the consequence of life apart from God. More than that, no one can forgive themselves; no one can correct their own mistakes and undo all the things that we do that we shouldn't have done and the things that we should have done that we did not do. As the prayer from the Book of Common Worship reads, "and there is no health in us." So Original Sin is not a condemnation of an infant as much as it is a reflection of the fallness of humanity. Therefore we baptize infants because it is not about us, it is about God. It is about grace. By grace are we healed, by grace are we forgiven and by grace we are born to the promise of new life. A child has done nothing to earn God's love; an infant brings no resume, no credentials - only the promise of God's grace. Each time we baptize an infant we become aware of the miracle of grace.... we are chosen not because of who we are but because of God's love. It was a joy to visit with this young Father and it was a joy, some weeks later, to baptize his son. In faith,
Pastor Tim
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