Colossians 2:12
“When you were baptized, you were buried together with him [Jesus]. You were raised to life together with him by believing in God’s power. God raised Jesus from the dead.”
There is a $44,000 piece of paper on my wall. No, it’s not a rare piece of currency or a small painting by Pablo Picasso — it’s my college degree. That single piece of paper represents years of work, late nights with books, hours of studying, and a great achievement. At it’s core, it’s a framed piece of paper. However, it represents so much more.
Baptism is similar. It’s a small slice of your whole story, but it represents the entire culmination of your faith in Jesus. Your baptism is an outward representation of your internal transformation. So what exactly does it represent? What’s up with the water? Why do they dunk our heads? Isn’t that dangerous? Well, there is a powerful principle behind the practice.
As Paul was writing to the church in Colossae, he helped them understand how baptism speaks to their identity. Your moment of baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. As Christians, we get to partake in that same spiritual cycle. We were dead in our sin, but we are resurrected to life in Christ. Baptism is much more than cold water and a free t-shirt; it’s a powerful picture of our own spiritual resurrection.
Spiritually, we experience this life-altering transformation by seeing our identity in “co-crucifixion” and “co-ressurection” with Christ. We were dead, but God brought us back to life. This is a miracle. This is worth celebrating. Your baptism is the natural representation of this supernatural reality.