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“Mom, Dad, Do You Want Me to Wait?”
“Mom, Dad, do you want me to wait until I get home to be baptized?”
A young person is away from home and decides to be baptized.
• Should the parents be contacted before the baptism? Absolutely.
• Should the parents tell their child to wait until they can talk? Possibly.
• Should the parents rejoice but tell their child to wait until he or she is home so the parents can be there? Never.
Besides the example of the Philippian jailer and his family being baptized “in the same hour of the night” (Acts 16:33). And besides the parable that says, “you fool, you did not know this night your soul is required of you” (Luke 12:20) which teaches is to not make plans without God. Besides those two, consider what are we teaching by telling a child to wait, whether we are the parent or the friend. Or, what are we teaching by telling them not to wait. I suggest this is more than “what if they die” encouragement. It is teaching
• Faith over Family (Luke 14:26)
• Priority over Preference (Acts 24:25)
• Grace over Guilt (Acts 2:37-38)
And probably even more lessons eternal. Ananias said to Saul (Paul), “Why do you delay? Get up and be baptized , calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Ultimately, home is where God is.
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